Nine of Hammerson’s ten UK shopping centres are united under one Gift Card scheme, which has been running since 2008.
The Gift Card is viewed as a valuable service to customers, particularly at Christmas time when people are faced with multiple gift-buying decisions.
But the Gift Card also has a strong commercial imperative as it keeps the gifted cash within Hammerson. Furthermore, the final spend with a Gift Card is usually +40% of its original valuei, and most cards are cashed-in during the first three months of ownership, helping sales during the lean retail months of January to March.ii Sales of Hammerson Gift Cards had been steady for years, without much improvement, aside from some growth in 2014 following a small investment.
Given the commercial benefits, Hammerson was determined to boost Gift Card sales over the key Christmas period of November and December 2015, raising the marketing budget slightly in 2015.
