| November 2003 |
#1 |
This is the first edition of a monthly publication that will discuss a specific feature of POSIM in detail. Some features will be new to you; others will have been in POSIM for many years. All are features that we feel will help many of you to maximize your POSIM system.
This month, with the holiday season approaching, we have chosen to spotlight Gift Cards, which is a new feature in POSIM 7.8.
POSIM's latest version (POSIM 7.8, which will be available shortly) introduces Gift Cards.
Gift Cards have become enormously popular as marketing vehicles in the major chains--Nordstrom, Saks, Barnes & Noble, Nike, Circuit City, and Starbucks to name just a few.
It is easy to understand why Gift Cards are so popular.
From the customer's perspective: it is a fast, easy way to shop for a gift. The giver doesn't have to worry about getting the right style, color or size, and yet the Gift Card carries with it the image of the store from which it was purchased so the gift giver gets credit for having good taste. And when purchased as a Cash Card for the user themselves (like at Starbucks), it provides an easy way for the customer to shop because it eliminates the need for cash along with the accumulated coins that are given back as change.
And from the retailer's perspective, the picture is even better:
(A) Gift Cards give you the opportunity to get TWO customers into your store...both the "Giftor" and the "Giftee"
(B) 40% of Gift Card recipients spend more when visiting the store than the actual value of their Gift Card
(C) You have the "float" of the money on account.
(D) Up to 15% of Gift Card recipients don't ever use their Gift Card (leaving the money in the retailer's pocket)...this more than offsets the cost of the Gift Cards!
POSIM 7.8 introduces Gift Card support within POSIM as follows.
Setting Up Item Cards
Gift Cards are set up as Item Cards in InventoryAnalyzer using the "G" transaction type as shown below.
If you want to allow the customer to determine the exact amount of the Gift Card at the time of purchase (and/or refill), you would set up the Item Card as shown here, with the Our Retail set at $0. Notice that we have also included the name of the business in the Description, and assigned a department to it in the appropriate Misc field.
NOTE: If you want to sell pre-set dollar amounts for your Gift Cards (i.e., $25; $50; etc.), they would be set up exactly as shown above EXCEPT: (a) you would set up a separate Item Card for each Gift Card amount (we suggest that you encode the value in the Item ID for easy identification when selling the item...like GC25), and (c) the Our Retail field would be filled in with the value of the Gift Card being sold.
Gift Card Sales
Gift Card support is a Shared User Control that must be set up in SalesPoint. As you can see here, you can choose to have the balance of the Gift Card printed on the sales receipt each time that Gift Card is used.
When a Gift Card is sold, POSIM asks you to identify the specific
Gift Card number by scanning the barcode or swiping the magstripe
(depending on which Gift Card type you have selected...see "Gift
Card Medi
a > Gift Card
Back" below).
The screen that you will see at SalesPoint when selling a Gift Card is shown here.
A similar screen will appear when a Gift Card is redeemed.
Each time that Gift Card is used POSIM tracks the activity on that specific Gift Card within your POSIM database.
Gift
Card Tracking
Gift Cards are tracked by the individual ID (encoded in the barcode/magstripe, and printed on the back of the Gift Card). Through the Gift Card Report found in SalesPoint > Reports, you always have access to information on all Gift Cards, including the activity and the balance remaining on each Gift Card. You can tell POSIM to report on specific Gift Cards, or on all of them, or only those with a remaining balance (as shown here).
The Gift Cards issued by Ensign are "married" to your specific POSIM database, which Ensign states will make them secure from fraudulent use.
NOTE: Because of this security feature, the POSIM Gift Card is available only for single location use at this time, and cannot be redeemed among multiple store locations.
The front of the Gift Card offers you a couple of options:
It is available in either
The card shown here is, obviously, Full-Color.
The front of the Gift Card can carry your logo (which you would need to provide in electronic format), or--if you don't have a logo--it can simply carry your store name in a typeface that you choose. There is no extra fee for using your logo.
The back of the Gif
t Card
offers you a two of options: It is available with the Gift Card
ID Number printed in either:
(x) Barcode format
OR
(y) Magstripe with Barcode format
The card shown here is the Barcode Only option, and requires a barcode scanner at your point-of-sale (naturally, the magstripe option would require a magstripe reader at your point-of-sale station).
NOTE: We recommend that you include both your telephone number and your website URL on your Gift Card in addition to your company name and address.
All Gift Cards are plastic, are the same size as a standard credit card (measuring 3.35" x 2.25") and are printed in black-on-white on the BACK of the Card.
There is a one-time setup fee for Gift Cards: $25 for the One-Color option, or $50 for the Full-Color option. This setup fee includes laying out the card with your logo, or helping you select a font for your Company Name on the Card if you do not have a logo in electronic format. It also includes sending you a fax of the card for your approval before it is printed.
BARCODE Only:
100 - 299 Cards...$1.15 per card
300-499 Cards...$0.95 per card
500 & Up Cards...$0.75 per card
...or...
MAGSTRIPE and BARCODE:
100 - 299 Cards...$1.20 per card
300-499 Cards...$1.00 per card
500 & Up Cards...$0.80 per card
BARCODE Only:
100 - 299 Cards...$1.45 per card
300-499 Cards...$1.20 per card
500 & Up Cards...$0.95 per card
...or...
MAGSTRIPE and BARCODE:
100 - 299 Cards...$1.50 per card
300-499 Cards...$1.25 per card
500 & Up Cards...$1.00 per card
Again, ALL cards are printed in black-on-white on the BACK of the Card.
Initial response to this new Gift Card feature has been strong around the country--we hope that you will make use of this feature that can help generate additional sales dollars and strengthen your bond with your customers.
As always, please call if you have any questions!
Best wishes for the Holiday Season,
Debby & Bob
(310) 822-8820