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fgiftGreetings!

The month of November brought in festivities, exuberance and increase in retail sales.It was a special month for QwikCilver as well.

Last Diwali, QwikCilver launched its B2C portal www.woohoo.in -India’s first online gift card megamall! This Diwali Woohoo rolled out SoLoMaP-Woohoo Friends’ Club, an innovative way to gift to friends on Facebook!!!

Read on to know more…

A QWIK preview of some of the consumer promotions on www.Woohoo.in during Diwali!

Continuous engagement with consumers increases TOM Recall of the brand and creates more bonded consumers.

Most successful Gift card programs are the ones where Gift cards are considered as another product in the Brand’s product line. Gift card programs need to be sustained through well-planned activities.

They are more successful if the calendar of consumer promotions is worked out during the brand ‘s planning process before the start of next financial year!

One of the key challenges for brands today is to convert their online following into footfalls. To address this issue, Woohoo has launched ‘Friends Club’, a Social to Local Marketing Platform (SoLoMaP), a first of its kind social marketing platform in Asia Pacific!

The Concept:

Friends’ Club enables gifting amongst Facebook Friends and leverages the power of social media to reach out to a wide customer base. Through this platform, Woohoo aims to provide brands with an effective marketing platform driven by viral, word-of-mouth marketing as well as giving consumers another mode of easy gifting. The key differentiator is the capability to engage consumers, trigger and track Facebook posts on to the sales purchases at the brand stores/online portals in real time.

How it works?

The gifting process is as simple as using any other social app on Facebook. On the Woohoo Friends’ Club page, the user has to sign in using his/her Facebook login. Once logged in, the friends list of the user is extracted and details regarding their birthdays are displayed.

The user can choose from free cards or top-up on the free value for the desired amount to be sent to any of his/her friends. The friend in turn receives a post, which asks for his/her e-mail /shipping address for the delivery of the E-Gift card/physical Gift card as the case maybe. The recipient can then go to the brand’s outlet/online portal to redeem the Gift Card.

Advantages to Brands:

The key differentiator of the platform is that it is not advertising-led communication. The user ‘gifts’ a Gift Card to his/her friends and posts it on his/her timeline. The brand logo is also a part of the timeline post. The whole process aims to ensure a greater brand engagement and recall and since the Gift Card is posted on the wall of the recipient it is viewed by more people.

www.qwikcilver.com
www.woohoo.in

E:Mail- news@qwikcilver.com

Woohoo.in rides the social media wave with Facebook-based gift vouchers

As appeared in Afaqs.com on 21 Nov 2012, By Biprorshee Das

With Woohoo Friends Club, users can gift vouchers of various brands that are available with Woohoo.in on Facebook.

While the realm of social media expands, marketing on the various social platforms is getting innovative as well. Brands engaging with consumers on social media is old news; what is not is the new ideas that are being thought of to keep the consumers interested.

Woohoo.in, an online destination for gift vouchers (or gift cards) of various brands, for instance, is riding the wave, taking its services to the Facebook platform. The portal has launched a new initiative called the ‘Woohoo Friends’ Club’ that allows Facebook users to send gift cards of a wide range of merchants and brands, electronic or physical, to their friends on the social networking platform.

The gifting platform, called SoLoMap (Social to Local Marketing Platform) is the first of its kind to be launched in the Asia Pacific region, claims the company.

The gifting process is as simple as using any other social apps on the platform. On the Woohoo Friends’ Club page, the user has to sign in using his/her Facebook login. Once logged in, the friends list of the user is extracted and details regarding their birthdays are displayed.

The user can choose the gift card of the desired amount to be sent to any of his/her friends. The friend in turn receives a post, which asks for his/her address for the delivery of the card and can then go to the brand outlet to redeem the voucher.

T P Pratap, chief marketing officer and co-founder, QwikCilver (Woohoo.in’s parent company) tells afaqs! that the initiative will help its merchants engage directly and effectively with customers.

“One big challenge for brands today is how to convert their online following into footfalls. W Friends’ Club is a platform that facilitates that. It leverages the power of social media to reach a wide customer base. Through this programme, we aim to provide brands with an effective marketing platform driven by viral, word-of-mouth marketing as well as giving consumers another mode of easy gifting. The key differentiator is the capability to engage consumers, trigger and track Facebook posts on to the sales purchases at the brand stores in real time,” he says.

Pratap points out that while vouchers bought and redeemed ensures that the core objective of sales is achieved, an initiative such as this on a platform such as Facebook guarantees that a particular brand is spoken of.

“It is not advertising-led communication. The user ‘gifts’ a gift card. The logo and details of the brand are all there on their Facebook timeline. That particular post is far more effective. This is one more avenue for our partner brands,” he says.

Woohoo.in has around 70 brands that include Titan, Puma, Nike, Allen Solly and Flipkart, among others, vouchers of which the company sells online. The initiative has been built internally by the company’s technology development team.

Pratap states that as per a survey conducted by QwikCilver, the Indian gift card market has been growing at 145 percent in the last 12 months and is valued at Rs 1,800 crore.

Koramangala is hub of Vibrancy and Innovation

As appeared in Economic Times on 12 Nov 2012, By Rashi Varshney

Come festive season and it is time to exchange gifts. Kumar Sudarsan and T P Pratap — who were collegemates in BITS-Pilani — capitalised on this demand and launched Woohoo.in, an integrated online portal for gift cards. In an interview with ET, both of them talk about Diwali season being the best time for business, and Koramangala’s role in their success. Edited excerpts:

What is Woohoo?

Woohoo.in is an e-commerce portal. It is an integrated online mega mall for gift cards. We started it on Diwali last year under our company called QwikCilver Solutions. Our founding team has experience in technology development, retail, marketing and research. Investments subsequently have been raised from Helion and Accel, two leading VC funds. The concept was born in the office of QwikCilver Solutions, Koramangala, adjacent to Jyoti Nivas College. This area has a vibrant presence and stimulates individuals looking to make a difference in some small way to some aspect of our living.

What was the rationale behind the idea?

A combination of inherent consumer research, gaps in the market for such consumer needs; and feedback from brand partners to launch such a portal gave the venture impetus. Our research studies showed that consumers have increasingly started to prefer to give gift cards to their near and dear ones. There was a need in the market for a player to offer a consolidated platform of consumers, corporate and retail brands for the prepaid and gift card category in India.

What is the scope and prospects?

The category for gift cards is growing significantly in India. This phenomenon has scaled up from across Bangalore initially — to now support consumers across more than 250 towns and cities of India. Consumer studies and data reflect that this category growth is more than 200 percent year on year. The prepaid category has the potential to grow to 10 percent of a large retailer’s topline. From another perspective, this category is estimated at Rs 1,800 crore annually.

What is Woohoo’s business model?

By leveraging our QwikCilver technology platform, we have integrated directly to the Billing POS of our partner brands at their brand stores. This enables consumers to get the same gifting experience for gift cards on Woohoo.in as they would get at the brand stores. The model works on a combination of transaction fees for providing the technology for gift cards, promotional cards, social media program management; distribution margins on sales delivered for brands gift cards and vouchers; retainer fees for managing gift card programs for brands at their exclusive stores and portals; fees for card design and card procurement.

How important is Koramangala?

The advantage of Koramangala as a launch pad is that residents here have been exposed to the concept of Gift Cards globally. Being based in Koramangala, we have focused on the Bangalore consumers and the corporate sector in the first phase. Koramangala, Indiranagar and HSR Layout has this diverse, eclectic consumer base of well-travelled individuals. Woohoo focused on the clients in Bangalore market since its inception. As the founding team has lived and was based in Koramangala and Indiranagar, we focused on this market.

Our efforts have helped in our business getting signed and deployed by most of the leading stores in Koramangala such as, PVR-Forum Mall, Landmark Stores-Forum Mall, Shoppers Stop in Koramangala, World of Titan stores, Flipkart, Fastrack Outlets, Helios Outlet, Peter England, Van Heusen, Cafe Coffee Day, Titan Eye Plus Outlets, Louise Philippe, Arrow, Raymond, Puma, Nike, Printo, YLG Salons etc.

Unique gifting option for the festive season

Republished here on: 29 October 2012

As appeared in the The Economic Times on 29 Oct 2012:

By: Milan Sharma

Similar to debit cards, the pre-loaded gift cards can be used multiple times across different retailers–

Confused about what to gift someone this festive season You certainly dont want to spend time looking for something that ends up in the pile of recycled gifts.However,going the easy way by picking store vouchers can limit the choice for the other person.After all,vouchers are for onetime use and have to be redeemed for the entire amount.This is why gift cards make for a more savvy choice.These are prepaid cards,which can be loaded for a certain amount,ranging from 500-50,000.They are similar to debit cards and can be swiped at any brick-and-mortar or online store that accepts plastic.Another benefit is that you can swipe a gift card only for a partial value and use it multiple times till it is valid.

Typically,there are two kinds of gift cards in the market.A closedloop card is merchant-branded one and can only be used at a single retail store or chain,such as the ones issued by Caf Coffee Day or Fastrack.Then there is the open-loop card,which can only be issued by a bank along with a credit card company like Visa or MasterCard.These can be used across all stores.
Most gift cards are valid for a year.You can approach a store or bank directly to buy a gift card,or search for one on portals like Woohoo.in,Giftcardsindia.in,Indiaplaza.com and Infibeam.com,which will deliver it for free.Some banks also sell gift cards on their websites.

! Expiration issues

Though gifts cards can be reused,they come with a validity period.Most are valid for a year,in line with the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India for prepaid instruments.However,some gift cards may have a shorter period,such as the merchant-branded ones from Woohoo.in, which are valid for 360 days.While validity dates are stamped on most gift cards,if yours does not have one,write the expiry date behind it with a permanent marker yourself.Some gift cards also come with the condition that they have to be swiped once in a quarter.
The biggest problem is that if the card expires and still carries some money,you will not get a refund.Take the gift card offered by the State Bank of India (SBI).If the balance in the card is below 100 and it has not been used for six months or has expired,the entire balance will be forfeited and it will be closed.However,if the balance is above 100 but the card is no longer valid,the bank transfers the remaining balance (minus 100) to the cardholders bank account if you file an application within three months of expiry.

! Renewal and top-ups

To fight fraud related to prepaid cards,the RBI has issued stringent guidelines on prepaid gift instruments.So,the maximum purchase value for both merchant-branded and bank gift cards cannot exceed 50,000,with the minimum value being 500.These cards are non-reloadable and cannot be topped up.However,you can get them reissued,though there may be a fee for this.The SBI charges 50 for reissuing a gift card,while the HDFC Bank charges 100,plus taxes,for its HDFC GiftPLus card.If you are taking a gift card from a bank,you will have to complete the know your customer (KYC) procedure.This isnt required for merchant-branded ones.
The only exception to the non-reloadable clause is HDFC Banks Mudra GiftPlus Card,which can be topped up any time but can only be used to purchase gold or silver coins at HDFC Bank branches.

! Invisible charges

Bank gift cards can be used at multiple establishments,which makes them score high on convenience,but this benefit comes at a cost as several extra charges are levied.For instance,ICICI Bank levies 200,plus taxes,if you want to check the charge slip for any fraudulent transaction.If you swipe the Union Bank of Indias gift card at a restaurant,20% of your food bill will be blocked on the card to cover any possible tip.The same is true at gas stations to cover fuel surcharge.However,if there is no tip or surcharge on the final bill,the amount will be unblocked after a few weeks.So,you need to be careful while using the card towards the fag end,because if the total amount is more than the money loaded in your card,the transaction will be declined.
On the other hand,merchant-branded gift cards do not have any extra charges.The policies of such cards are governed by the retailer.If you are a frequent customer and also have the stores loyalty card,any problems that may arise will be handled smoothly by the store.This is why 70-80 % of the gift card market is merchant-branded, says Kumar Sudarshan,director of QwikCilver,a gift card solution provider to various brands.

! Specific or general

Merchant-branded gift cards can be limiting and binding since you will only be able to use them at a particular store.If you present a gift card of a certain value of a high-end store and the giftee has to pay extra to make a purchase,the thought behind your gift diminishes.Consumers tend to spend 100-400 % more than their gift cards face value while redeeming them, says Sudarshan. This is why bank cards are preferable as gifting options since these can be used across retailers as well as for online shopping.The latter also makes more sense if you aren’t sure of the store that the other person prefers.Another advantage with a bank gift card is that you will get a tele-banking PIN and an Internet banking PIN,which will allow you to check the balance on the card as well as the transaction details.

QwikCilver at IAMAI Digital Payment Conference on 12-09-2012

Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) organized a 2 day Conference on 12th September 2012 at the ITC Grand in Mumbai. QwikCilver was requested to attend as a panelist to throw light on the topic “Innovations in Gift & Incentive Cards”, a hot theme getting increasing attention in digital payment circles. While the panel with QwikCilver focused on the growth of the gift card category in India; interesting details emerged about the issues, challenges and opportunities in driving acceptance of pre-paid gifting instruments.

Mr. T P Pratap who as Co-Founder & CMO at QwikCilver & Woohoo.in, shared his experiences in launching gift cards in India. Since the launch of the category three years ago, over 2.5 million gift cards already have been procured by brands and retailers. The rate of adoption has grown significantly, with approximately 3 million cards expected to be absorbed by the Indian market in the coming 6 months. Mr. Pratap also illuminated the audience on the differing rates of penetration of gift cards across India; with the southern cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, seeing both a faster growth in sale and redemption of gift cards.

The panel also discussed the enabling role retailers’ play in driving the adoption of gift cards among consumers. While everybody at first glance understands the conveniences of a gift card over cash or physical gifts; consumer adoption can increase if there is all round commitment towards the initiative from the top management to the store executives. Branding, advertising and point-of-sale promotion also plays a key role for spreading greater awareness; as the gift card needs to be marketed as a FMCG product, rather than as a financial instrument. Towards the end, the panel also discussed the emerging gifting instruments like digital & mobile gift vouchers aimed at further simplifying gift giving in India.

Note: Image is from www. IAMAI.in. Copyright vests with respective copyright holders.

Retailers target 1 million gift card sales this festive season: Study

Republished here on: 04 October 2012

As appeared on 03 October in The Economic Times

MUMBAI: In spite of the concerns over the diminishing footfalls at retail stores, there is an increasing demand for gift cards during the festive season and retailers expect sale of a million such cards during the forthcoming Diwali, according to a recent study.

“Retailers are gearing up for demand of over a million gift cards during this festive season. Indians spent Rs 1,800 crores on gift cards last year.

“The total number of active gift cards touched 2.7 million this month, and has witnessed a growth of 145 per cent in the last one year,” reveals a study by QwikCilver that is into gift card solutions.

Retailers are keen to push gift cards, as customers tend to buy products worth more than the gift card, it notes.

“Retailers are keen on gift cards owing to the significant increase in average uplift. Uplift is the amount spent by an individual over the card value.

“The average uplift is currently at 150 per cent, with giftees spending at least 70 per cent more than the gift card value,” it says, adding that in case of premium accessory brands, uplift is as high as 400 per cent.

The average amount spent on a gift card in the country is Rs 1,400 this year, but is higher at Rs 3,300 for premium accessory brands, the study says noting that almost 40 per cent of the demand for gist card is from Tier-II and Tier-II cities.

“Globally, gift cards are easily the largest selling SKUs for many brands, especially during festive seasons and this trend is soon catching up here,” QwikCilver said.

In addition to retail demand, corporates have also jumped on to the bandwagon, with gift cards turning out to be the favourite for employee and partner gifting programmes.

The study notes that all leading brands, across categories such as apparel, luxury accessories, food and beverage, cinema are adding new variants to their gift card offerings.

Woohoo Newsletter

Greetings!

This month QwikCilver powered E-Gift card programs for leading brick and mortar as well as online retailers! E-Gift Cards are not an alternative to physical Gift cards but give consumers an added gifting option!

Café Coffee Day team along with ‘Café Moments’ fans had a lot of mouth watering ‘Barfi’ Moments!

Read on to know more…

Peter England is the first brick and mortar retailer in India to have launched E-Gift Cards. These can be purchased from www.woohoo.in and www.peterengland.com and redeemed at any of the Peter England stores in India.

India’s largest youth fashion brand, Fastrack also launched Fastrack E-Gift cards powered by QwikCilver to provide an instant gifting option to their consumer base.These E-Gift cards are redeemable across all Fastrack stores in India.

Yepme.com which is India’s first online fashion brand for apparels, footwear & accessories launched its E-Gift cards.QwikCilver powered its E-Gift card program to enable its discerning consumers to gift E-Gift cards to their loved ones that can be redeemed on their e-com portal.

Benefits of E-Gift Cards:

An instant gifting option wherein the customer can send the electronic gift card to his friends, family members and associates anytime, anyplace!
A very good gifting option for last minute shoppers, couch potatoes and also NRIs who want to gift to family and friends in India.
Extremely useful for Bulk /Corporate orders; no physical inventory of Gift cards required and the E-Gift card numbers can be generated in no time.
Drives new customers to the stores/e-com portal.
Customers can be offered the choice of choosing their own E-Gift card design.
Useful for promotions- saves on cost of physical Gift Card as well as time of implementation

Ramakrishnan, President Marketing, Cafe Coffee Day along with the stars and Director of ‘Barfi’!

The ‘Cafe Moments’ Prepaid Card program for Cafe Coffee Day launched in association with QwikCilver has been successfully accepted in more than 1200 Cafe outlets across India!

This success has been driven by unique programs for consumers such as association of Cafe Moments program with the popular movie ‘Barfi’. The fans got an opportunity to meet and greet the stars in different cities of India!

Gift cards are an employer’s best gift to their employees on different occasions such as Birthdays, Festivals, and New Year as Gift Cards enable them to buy what they want!
Looking for a gift for newlyweds? Help them celebrate their new lives together with taste. They will definitely love Gift Cards of prominent department stores and lifestyle brands.
Thinking of what clothes to buy for your new-born nephew whose one almirah is already full of over-sized clothes, present a Gift Card.
Your wife’s overworked and you want to help her rewind and rejuvenate; she would be pleased to receive a salon Gift Card from you.
Your brother-in-law is a sports enthusiast; what better way to please him than gifting a sports lifestyle brand Gift Card that would help him to nurture his passion.
Want to give your sister and her husband a break from the monotony of life, a movie Gift Card would be a great escape.
It takes a lot of effort from the host to pull off a great get-together. Show your appreciation for the fun time by presenting a Gift Card to the host.
You have been assigned the task of planning gifts for the monthly kitty party- look no further! Just go ahead and present a Gift Card.
Tired of giving sweets to your friends and relatives on festivals; start giving Gift Cards to enhance the euphoria of festivities.
Here’s the secret to Happy Married life…present a jewellery Gift Card to your wife. Need we say more!
Your next door neighbour was instrumental in making your kid’s birthday bash a phenomenal success and now you want to give her a small token of appreciation. Look no further, simple present a Gift Card to delight her.
Your father is feeling low a few months post his retirement; it would be a great idea to present a Gift Card to buy things that will help him to further his hobbies. He would definitely feel younger and excited.
A friend with artistic pursuits has invited you for dinner; it might be a great idea to present a Gift Card to laud her efforts.
Almost at wit’s end on what gift to purchase for baby shower, a Gift Card would definitely please the parents-to-be.
Missing your niece/nephew on Children’s Day; send them Gift Cards so that they can buy gifts of their own choice.They will be more than delighted to have a caring aunt/uncle like you!
Having sleepless nights as you are unable to get ‘that’ exciting gift for your girlfriend on her birthday; a Gift Card would be a sure shot hit with her.
Thinking of ways to delight your parents on their anniversary of which you cannot be a part, present a Gift Card with your personalized message to light up their day!
Every Teacher’s Day, you are filled with fond memories of your favorite school teachers; Go ahead and send them Gift Cards to show them that they are always valued.
You are running from one meeting to another and also wondering on what gift to send to your associate on his birthday-simply order a Gift Card online. It’s that convenient!
Your friend puts on weight as easily as he loses it and now you are at your wit’s end thinking on what size of shirt to gift him on his Birthday; reduce your perplexity by giving a Gift Card indeed!
Your sister loves dressing up; why not give a premium apparel brand Gift Card and continue re-loading it for different occasions – birthdays, festivals, anniversary etc. She will be proud to have a sister like you!
You have to attend a function of a distant relative possibly meeting for the first time and feeling awkward at giving cash; why not give a Gift Card which is like cash, yet a more elegant gifting option.
Your brother got a promotion, what better way to congratulate him and appreciate his hard work than sending a Gift Card to him!
Going for your first date and don’t know what gift to carry for your friend, a Gift Card would be a smart and safe bet!
Wondering what kitchen appliance to give to your friend who is an enthusiastic cook, present a Gift card and let her choose her gift!
Want to surprise your college friend who lives in a different city on his birthday, a Gift Card with your personalized message would surely convey how much you miss and care for him even today!
Busy planning for a surprise birthday party for your spouse and at your wit’s end on deciding a gift for him/her, present a Gift Card and enjoy the party!
Struggling to figure out what color/size/design of purse would be preferred by your mother-in-law; give a Gift Card instead and let her enjoy the shopping!
A Gift card is an ideal present for a family who is moving out of town and in the process of downsizing goods; it takes up virtually no space and they can easily buy stuff with it once they arrive in their new city.
What better way to convey your heartfelt thanks to your team members, for meeting a difficult deadline, than giving a Gift card with your personalized message!
If you are struggling hard to find a suitable gift to be given for your neighbor’s son’s wedding; then buy a Gift Card and sit back and enjoy the wedding!
Your sister has got a new job; she would be pleasantly surprised and elated on receiving a Gift card from you on her first day to work!
Want to make truce with your loved one after a heated discussion, look no further- just give a Gift Card along with your sorry message!
Your wife’s put in a lot of effort in hosting a party for your friends on your promotion, now it’s your turn to express your gratitude to her. Need we say that women love shopping and are on cloud nine when they get Gift Cards!
It’s your niece’ first Birthday and you are miles apart- send a Gift Card online and let your family know how much you care for them!
Gift Big with a Gift Card on Valentine’s Day! What happens next is better left to one’s imagination!!!
This year surprise all your school friends & college friends by sending them Gift Cards during ‘Friendship week’-All to say ‘It’s good to be together’!
Are you looking for ‘the perfect gift’ for your mother on ‘Mother’s Day’? Your search stops here as a Gift Card from a premium accessory brand would bring a million dollar smile on her face!
Meeting your nephew/niece after a long time and wondering on what size of dress to pick for him/her. Present a Gift Card instead and let them choose their own gift!
Your friend has got a promotion. What better way to delight him/her than giving a Gift Card of a leading apparel brand!
Not in town for your anniversary and totally perplexed on how to send a Gift to your spouse. An E-Gift card would be the best Gifting option!
Can’t make it to your best buddy’s birthday bash-please him/her with a Gift Card to show him/her that you care!
Your sister who is a sports enthusiast is feeling low. What better way to cheer her up than giving a Gift card of leading sports lifestyle brand!
Your father is very special to you and you want to give him the best Gift on ‘Father’s Day’. Is there a better gift than the gift of choice-the Gift Card!
Pleased with your teams’ efforts of creating an outstanding product- Why don’t you delight them with a Gift card along with your personalized message? This team is sure to stick by your side!
Even after asking a number of times, your father is delaying his yearly vision test- what better way to drive him to the optical store than giving a Gift Card from leading Eye wear brand. He will be overwhelmed to have a caring son/daughter like you!
Your colleague is brimming with joy on the birth of his baby. Time for you to add to his joy by instantaneously sending him an E-Gift card of retailers offering baby products.
Your niece has excelled in board exams- why don’t you add to her happiness by presenting Gift Cards of premium brands and let her bask in the glory of her success!
Wondering on what gift to give to a person who has almost everything – Gift card will be the best choice!
Delight your sister with a Gift Card on Rakshabandan and she will be amazed to see your lovely choice of Gift.
Wondering on what gifts to send to your parents during festivals? Send them a Gift card Hamper having Gift cards of leading national and International brands and let them splurge on themselves!

www.qwikcilver.com

www.woohoo.in

E:Mail- news@qwikcilver.com

A Rewarding Business

Republished here on: 12 September 2012

As appeared in September issue of Outlook Business. By Michael Correya.

Why prepaid gift cards are becoming popular as an employee reward

Remember when Sodexo passes had become a sort of al- ternative currency? Companies doled out the meal vouchers as a form of tax-free compensation and the coupons gained acceptance virtually everywhere — you could use your Sodexo passes to not only buy a meal, but also your groceries, medicines, consumer electronics and clothes. And then, retailers tired of the high handling costs and delayed payments from Sodexo and stopped accepting the vouchers. There are murmurs that the French company is back in action in India, but it’s still muted.

A Swipe Ahead

Gifting market in India $30 billion
Prepaid gift cards and vouchers market in India $403.8 million
Growing at 30% a year

Source: Global Prepaid Exchange

Meanwhile, a similar concept is gaining popularity — prepaid gift cards. Gift vouchers from individual retailers and brands have been around for ages but they come with riders. You can’t use a voucher in part, there’s a time limit by when you have to redeem the amount gifted and it can’t be used across all stores.

Which is why companies that used to hand out gift vouchers as rewards or gifts (on birthdays, for instance) are now opting for plastic cards that can be preloaded and used for multiple brands — and reloaded for further gifting, if required. “Services like these help companies reduce costs and also eliminate fraud and misuse,” says Jayanth Narayanan, vice-president and MD, Asia Pacific operations, Rideau Recognition Solutions.

While several banks, including ICICI, SBI and Axis, and card company American Express offer preloaded gift cards, some pure-play gift card companies have also set up shop, seeing the growing demand. Bengaluru-based QwikCilver Solutions, for instance, is the largest provider of retailer gift cards and employee reward cards and finds business is booming. “We have tied up with over 50 brands in more than 250 towns across India,” says TP Pratap, chief marketing officer, QwikCilver, proudly. That includes big labels such as Titan, Madura Garments, Flipkart, Shoppers Stop, PVR Cinemas and Café Coffee Day. QwikCilver also provides employee reward cards for companies such as 3M, ICICI Prudential, Intel and CA.

It works like this. The client selects the retailer or brand whose card will be distributed among employees. The money to be loaded on the card is transferred to the retailer, who passes on a 1-2.5% commission to the cards company immediately. The company earns the same commission if the card is reloaded. For the retailer, though, the expense goes beyond the commission: it has to integrate IT systems and instal swipe machines for the gift cards, which can cost upward of Rs 10 lakh.

Sodexo’s popularity slipped with employees when it came under the scanner of the tax authorities. It remains to be seen how long the gift cards reign flourishes.

Woohoo Newsletter

Issue 12 – For August, 2012

Greetings!

This edition of our newsletter is special as we complete one year interacting with you through our monthly newsletters!

We are also happy to share with you that Mr. Gopalkrishnan S D, AVP, Watch Division,Titan Industries agreed to pen down a Guest Feature for this issue. We are glad to have a veteran like him share interesting insights on retail planning with all our readers.

Happy Reading !

NEW LAUNCHES

Hidesign in association with QwikCilver launched its loyalty program to reward its growing and loyal consumer base.

With this program, Hidesign customers will be able to enjoy exclusive rewards and privileges making their shopping experience a memorable one!

Woohoo.in launches its E-Gift Card-the one stop card for all planned (and unplanned) gifting requirements!

Whether its employee R&R programs, Performance Bonuses, Feel Good Gifts, Birthday Gifts, Anniversary Gifts, Festive Season Rewards. In effect, Gifts for any Reason and any Season- the solution is simple!

It eliminates logistic headaches and removes the responsibility of having to choose a suitable gift for the many employees and vendors the Corporate has!

QWIK BYTE: Share of Different Categories

GUEST FEATURE: Mr. Gopalkrishnan S D , AVP:Watch Division, TIL

Retail Set-up: How to make it more viable?

Product quality and functionality are essential prerequisites for any retail set-up. Advertisements announce these, create brand desirability and kindle the purchase instinct. The last mile conversion into real purchase is at the final touch point, the retail store. Hence it is important that the art of retail is carefully thought and planned through. Here are a few critical areas to be considered.

Selection of the store: A good research and understanding is required before deciding on the location where the store is to be put up. The profile of the residents in the catchment area of the store should be relevant to the product category being sold. One does not put up a value mart where the nearby population is highly upmarket!

Product display and Visual merchandising: A good and attractive display of the product is very essential to elicit customer interest. Products should be arranged for the ease and convenience of the customers. One might want to highlight new introductions within the store to catch customer attention. Products could be arranged based on price points or product categories or any such classification that makes it easy for the customer to browse through. The products should not be stored in a clutter nor should the counters look empty. Very often the customers may shy away from a product on the presumption of a high price or may not be at ease to enquire the price. It would be a good idea to display the prices and display the ‘value buys’ separately. The store also should not look intimidating, particularly if the products are of widely differing price points catering to different customer profiles. The visual merchandising such as in store posters, danglers etc should also be very relevant, inviting and pleasing. Store in general and product counters in particular should be well lit.

Selection of the franchisee: All stores are not always run by the company themselves. When the stores where the products are sold are franchised, it is very important that the process for selection of franchisees gets equal attention as the products being sold. The reputation, the local standing, the investment capabilities and the retail experience of the franchisee are few factors that deserve attention. These are very essential to ensure that the reputation for the brands that have been built over years and at a considerable cost are not being whittled away by an inadequate franchisee.

Store staff: The staff being polite, well-groomed, well-informed about the product go a long way in converting the walk-in into a sale. A good and presentable uniform, the kind of make-up or perfumes that they can wear, a good training on how to receive or greet a customer, when to assist a customer or when to leave him alone are traits well worth being trained for. Customers today do look for a good retail shopping experience and these are essential to get the customers again back into the store for repeat purchases.

Loyalty Programs: It has now become common practice to grant to customers reward points on purchases made, that can be redeemed during subsequent purchases, to gain customer loyalty and ensure repeat purchases. Collecting customer’s details such as their name, address, birthday or wedding day etc and wishing them is one other way of winning customer loyalty. They should be specially informed when products relevant to them are introduced or provide them a special preview of new products or allow the special privilege of availing discounts when there are schemes run by the company. These would make them feel privileged and stay closer.

Gift Card Programs: Gifting presents a great opportunity to the retailers today. There are any number of occasions- Father’s day, Mother’s day, Children’s day, Valentine’s day, Marriages, Birthdays, marriage anniversaries- just to name a few. Festivals and celebrations of successes and achievements add to the opportunity. Loyalty programmes, as already mentioned, helps in acquiring details of some of these and to use them effectively with customers. Unless one is gifting something to someone intimate, it may be difficult to judge what the giftee would need or appreciate. Very often what size to buy (as in case of apparels) could be an issue. In this fast moving world, one may not have the time to decide and choose an appropriate gift. Gift cards have starting playing a great role in this space. A Gift card which can be redeemed say in a large format store, gives wide options to the giftee. Being electronically managed, Gift Cards are also safe and convenient. Most of them in the form of plastic cards are also elegant and easy to carry around like a credit card. Paper Gift Vouchers with a face value force the customers to buy to the extent of such value or forego balance since refunds are never permitted. Gift Cards permit multiple usage and does away with this limitation. Retailers can create additional sales opportunities in collaborating with such Gift card programs by either offering their products on sales through such gift cards or selling Gift cards themselves as a product category in the stores.

Financial performance: It is needless to mention that any retail operation needs to be profitable. In a single store, profit achieved at the store is an easy measure. It has been proven that establishing many neighbourhood stores increases sales as it makes it easy for the customer to shop and to prompt the customers for considering the products in these stores, particularly when it comes to gifting. While this could lead to a desire for opening up of many stores, it is also equally necessary to keep an eye on each such store. Financial parameters or thresholds should be defined clearly and one should not hesitate to close down stores when they turn out to be not profitable. These could be based on turnover, return from square foot of space (especially when the rent is high) or return on investment made.

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Digital Gift Cards

Republished here on: 27 December 2011

Link to the original article in Times of India here

The festive season in December has a unique charm. It’s not only Christmas but also the turn of a new year. Like all such joyful occasions, it’s a season of giving; an opportunity to renew and reinforce bonds, of family, friendship or togetherness. It’s also the time to surprise our loved ones with gifts. But not all of us have the luxury of time and convenience to wind through choked traffic, and trawl crowded markets and malls in search of the perfect present. Cyberspace is a good alternative enabling us to sit in the comforts of your home, and sift through products, review prices and specifications. Gifting online is hassle free. Go to one of the websites, like Woohoo and pick up the favourite card of the desired denomination, enter the shipping address and pay. Websites allow sorting gifts by category, occasion or price. The gift card can also be electronically sent by email. The recipient can redeem the card at the outlet physically or shop online and get the gift couriered. Buyers can customize and add personal messages. These cards have validity period of 3 to 12 months giving recipients liberty to wait to get their gift of choice. May be nothing like personally visiting a friend to give a gift, but given the fact that not all our loved ones are nearby, digital gift cards are fast becoming popular. Online malls have been proliferating as shoppers feel there is more variety in terms of categories, products and prices online. Some of them are: Indiatimes, Ebay, Naaptol, Myntra, Futurebazaar, Tradus, Homeshop18, Indiaplaza; the list goes on. There are also category-specific malls like Flipkart for books or Seventymm for movies. When our loved ones are far away, often our plans to present them a gift remains just an idea, given the hard logistics involved in picking up a gift, getting it packed, and couriered. Digital gift cards, which are popular abroad, are now fast catching on here. One, it gives you the advantages of online shopping; two, it’s easy and quick; and three, it gives the recipient the choice to get himself or herself something that he or she really loves.