Driving Guest Traffic with Gift Cards

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a challenging year – especially for restaurants. When planning for an unpredictable future ahead, it’s worth considering how to maximize the positive impact gift cards can have on the bottom line. 

Although sometimes considered an add-on to restaurant offerings, there are a wealth of marketing advantages that go beyond the initial gift card sale itself.

According to research from the National Restaurant Association, last year, 72 percent of people wanted a restaurant gift card during the holiday season.  This year is on track for even higher gift card sales.  Based on Blackhawk Network's sales data, egift card sales are already up 44 percent year-over-year.  

 While restaurants can clearly leverage this increased interest in consumer purchase of gift cards, what’s less obvious is why and how to encourage their actual use.  It’s an unfortunate fact that each year $3 billion a year in gift cards go unspent…