Festive Magic: How Gift Cards Can Boost Holiday Sales and Win Hearts

  By: Colleen Kruger ?Head of Commercial

Many overlook the importance of selling gift card options, or they claim their product offering is too small for the effort. However, this is far from the truth. Gift cards offer a range of benefits, and these advantages apply regardless of your market size, industry, or product selection.

The numbers tell a real story

Here’s what we see across Ireland: businesses typically experience a 16–24% increase in revenue during peak season thanks to gift card sales. But that’s just the surface. Gift cards work on multiple levels. They bring in new customers, encourage existing customers to spend more, and often customers spend beyond the card’s value. Studies consistently show up to 70% of customers overspend when using a gift card, which directly increases your average transaction values.

Beyond the numbers, gift cards provide strong upfront cash flow, help smooth out off-peak periods, and enhance brand visibility. When someone gives your gift card, your logo and business name are placed directly in the hands of a potential new customer, essentially free advertising with a high likelihood of conversion. This is why many local retailers, hospitality venues, salons, and service providers rely on gift cards not only for Christmas but also for birthdays, anniversaries, thank-you gifts and corporate rewards.

The gift of choice

During the Christmas season, especially, customers appreciate gift cards as a safe and thoughtful alternative. Buying a gift card still shows time, effort, and care, while giving the recipient the freedom to choose something they truly want. It’s a modern solution to an age-old problem: avoiding the pile-up of unused candles, soaps, or mismatched presents.

Selling gift cards is easier than you expect

Many merchants believe that launching a gift card or loyalty program requires a big investment and a complicated setup. The truth is much simpler. At NPI, we’ve designed the process to be straightforward, accessible, and stress-free from the very beginning.

Your existing payment terminal is all you need. That’s it. The entire program runs on what you already have, so there’s genuinely no extra hardware to buy, install, or learn. We handle the complexity behind the scenes, so you don’t have to.

We’ve also included free starter plastic gift cards, which means you can launch immediately without worrying about upfront costs. At a very low cost, New Payment Innovation provides businesses with ready-to-use tools that are simple, fast, and accessible even for the smallest operations. If you’re running a coffee van, a salon, or managing multiple pubs, you’re ready to go within days, not months.

The bigger picture

Gift cards also support customer retention. Once someone receives a gift card and visits your business, you gain an opportunity to turn that one-time visitor into a repeat customer. Paired with loyalty features, this creates a cycle of returning business that continues long after the holiday season ends.

This Christmas, be the answer

As we enter the season of giving, now is the perfect time to hop onto Santa’s sleigh and enable your customers to give your gift cards this festive season. A small step for your business—yet a powerful tool for growth, loyalty, and increased revenue all year long.

If you want to learn more about the NPI gift card program, visit our website at www.npi.ie or reach out directly to sales@63.32.182.232