For many businesses, the gift card journey looks simple. Someone buys it. Someone receives it. The card is redeemed. The balance is reduced.
Done? From a customer experience and marketing perspective, redemption can actually be the beginning of a new customer relationship.
Redemption is an important customer touchpoint
Imagine a customer who receives a €50 gift card for a shopping centre they have never visited before. They choose a store, redeem the card and perhaps spend even more than its original value.
But what happens next? Do they return? Discover other stores? Join the loyalty programme?
In a shopping centre, the journey often does not end with a single transaction. A customer may use part of the balance with one tenant and return later to spend the rest elsewhere. One gift card can therefore create multiple visits and interactions with different tenants.
A gift card can bring in a new customer
The buyer and recipient of a gift card are often two different people. The buyer already knows your destination. The recipient may not. That means a gift card is not only a source of revenue. It can also become a customer acquisition tool.
For a shopping centre, it can generate additional footfall, introduce customers to stores they might not otherwise visit and encourage additional spending.
From gift card to loyalty
Gift cards become even more interesting when connected with a loyalty programme.
Redemption → Engagement → Loyalty → Personalised communication → Return visit
Imagine a €100 gift card. On the first visit, the customer spends €65. On the next visit, they use the remaining €35 with another tenant and add another €20 of their own money. The €100 gift card has now contributed to two visits, two tenant interactions and €120 in total spending.
It did not simply create a transaction. It created a reason to return. If the customer is also part of the loyalty ecosystem, those interactions can become part of their profile and enable more relevant communication.
Data reveals the bigger picture
A gift card system can show:
- when and where the card was purchased,
- whether it was physical or digital,
- whether it was purchased online, at an information desk or through a self-service kiosk,
- where and when it was redeemed,
- whether the balance was spent in one transaction or across several visits,
- which tenants were involved,
- whether the customer spent more than the value of the card,
- whether they returned or joined a loyalty programme.
An individual tenant usually sees only what happens inside their own store. A shopping centre can gain a broader view of how customers move between different tenants, categories and visits.
Automation turns data into action
Data alone does not improve the customer experience. What matters is what you do with it. A gift card redemption can trigger relevant follow-up communication. A new loyalty member can receive a welcome message. A customer who has not returned for some time can enter a re-engagement campaign.
The principle is simple:
The customer does something.
The system recognises it.
The business responds with something relevant.
That is very different from simply sending more emails.
Three important moments
After purchase
The experience should be simple for both buyer and recipient. For digital gift cards, that can include instant delivery and easy access through a mobile wallet, whether the purchase starts online, at an information desk or through a kiosk.
After redemption
This can be the right moment to introduce loyalty or other relevant benefits. If part of the balance remains, the gift card itself already creates a reason for another visit.
After inactivity
If the customer does not return, appropriate data and consent can make this an opportunity for re-engagement.
The key is for communication to follow actual customer behaviour.
Beyond the gift card
Gift cards are often measured through simple metrics:
How many did we sell?
What was their total value?
How many were redeemed?
But the broader journey looks like this:
Purchase → Gift → Redemption → Engagement → Loyalty → Return
At SmartGifty, we see the gift card as part of a broader digital customer journey.
By connecting gift cards, loyalty, customer data and marketing automation, shopping destinations can better understand what happens before, during and after redemption — and create relevant reasons for customers to return. That is why the most important question is not only:
“How many gift cards did we sell?”
But also:
“How many new customer relationships did those gift cards create?”
Because the real value of a gift card does not necessarily end when its balance reaches zero.
