gift card topics and trends...• merchant and processor expectations • digital disruption •...

Gift Card Topics and Trends

ICMA 25th Anniversary Card Manufacturing and Personalization EXPO

Copyright © 2015 ABnote Corporation • All Rights Reserved


Disclaimer: The views expressed here are mine alone and come from the

perspective of a manufacturer, shopper, and enthusiast.

-- Karen BrookerVP Sales, ABnote North America

[email protected]



• Merchant and Processor Expectations• Digital Disruption• Incorporating “Cute” to Drive Gift Card Sales



Cheaper * Better * Faster

Merchant and Processor Expectations

• Continued pressure to cut costs• Simultaneous pressure to innovate and enhance• Turn-time expectations are very aggressive

Some EMV-focused manufacturers are walking away from the business…


Shrinking Demand for the Physical Gift Card…

Digital Disruption

• Gyft, CashStar, and others - Disrupting the physical gift card marketplace with digital e-gift experiences?

• The secondary market for gift cards - “Cheapening” perceived value of gift cards?

• CR80 form factor - Losing meaning among Millennials?


…Yet Physical Cards are not Going Away

Digital Disruption…Eventually

• Physical gift cards are often an impulse buy –Placement, display, and frequency of exposure affect purchasing behavior

• Specialty merchants incorporate special features or techniques on their physical gift cards to enhance their brand – These techniques may not translate well digitally


This little birdie would like to tell you a secret you probably didn’t know about gift card design…


Nenkov and Scott (2014) Found that “Whimsically Cute” Gift Card Designs may Prime Recipients to Make More

Enjoyable Purchases!

Cuteness as a Gift Card Attribute

The researchers studied participants’ choices of movie purchases when shopping with one of three different Amazon gift cards – one “whimsically cute” (with Polka-dots) one “cute kinchenschema” (with a photo of a baby on the front), and one “neutral.”


Fun, whimsical designs may actually prime the gift card shopper to indulge…and to have fun during a purchase…

•Bright Colors•Child-like or baby-like characters or themes



Karen BrookerVP Sales, ABnote North [email protected]

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gift card topics and trends...• merchant and processor expectations • digital disruption •...

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