eGift Certificates the McDonald’s Way
Ahhh, the beauty of eGift Certificates… What’s not the love? First, there’s fulfillment ease – nothing to box or ship, often just a single click to send. Secondly, there is a nice referral aspect, allowing happy customers to expose new customers to your products or store with a positive spin. Third is the innate drop-off factor that makes eGift Certificates into a bit of an online tip jar, since a large percentage are never redeemed for the full amount, or never redeemed at all! Yet we often forget how fabulous these are and forget to promote them!
Take a tip from the master marketers at McDonalds, who asked us “Would you like fries with that?” and successfully forced us to buy larger pants! A simple nudge is often all that’s needed. If you’re a Nexternal merchant, the Upsell Overlay feature that can be activated to pop up at checkout is a perfect spot to promote your gift certificates! It’s easier to upsell to shoppers who have already clicked checkout and committed to pulling out their credit cards. Just give them a little psychological cue that this is an opportunity to be efficient and buy a great gift for an upcoming occasion, such as a big holiday. (Father’s Day – hint hint!!) This is particularly relevant when shipping deadlines pass and frantic sons and daughters are looking for a life raft. Remind them that eGift Certificates are nearly instant and shipping is free! 
Make it a goal to increase your sales of eGift Certificates!
(To set up, first set the Gift Certificate as a related products, then activate the overlay popup in Layout / Main Layout – Edit / Products / Related Product Upsell Overlay. Contact your account manager for more information.)
Lanette Willis is a Senior Account Manager at Nexternal. Before joining Nexternal she spent nearly a decade working in market research and professional services marketing, before running her own successful eCommerce apparel business. Lanette is passionate about helping people and businesses thrive.
