Hi {{given_name}},

How many shoppers love what you sell, then leave empty handed because they have no idea what their sister, client, or neighbor would actually want?

That moment of gift doubt might be quietly sending holiday money to a big box gift card instead of to you.

💡 This week's 80/20 rule - Add a digital gift card to your website and put a "Gift Cards" link in your main menu before the holiday rush starts.

🧠 Gift buyers stall when they're not sure what someone wants, a classic case of choice overload. A gift card removes the guesswork, and it's also what people ask for most. In the National Retail Federation's holiday survey last year, 50% of people said a gift card was on their wish list, more than any other gift.

When the card gets spent, people treat it like found money rather than their own cash, which behavioral economists call mental accounting. That's why nearly 60% of shoppers say they would spend beyond a card's value, adding an average of $73 on top. You get paid once when the card is bought and again when it is redeemed.

It's like selling a ticket to your shop instead of a single item. The giver gets an easy yes today, and the person holding the ticket walks back through your door ready to spend.

🍽️ Snake River Grill – This Jackson Hole restaurant faced seasonal revenue dips and wanted an easier way to sell holiday gift cards than a crowded host stand. It put gift card sales on its own website with a timed promo code and emailed the offer to a list of about 8,000 guests. The restaurant sold about $25,000 in gift cards on day one and grew gift card revenue 75% year over year.

🐬 Anna Maria Island Dolphin Tours – This family run tour company on Florida's Gulf Coast needed holiday revenue at a time of year when travel isn't a priority for most people. In 2023 it ran a Black Friday sale on discounted gift cards, pitched its tours as a memory instead of another thing to unwrap, and promoted it with a website banner, social posts, and mentions from its captains. Gift card sales jumped 1,450% that November, and in 2024 more than one in twenty bookings came from gift card redemptions.

☕ Nonnina – This family run café in Lachine, Montreal wanted to reach new people beyond its loyal regulars without slowing down the lunch rush. In September 2023 it launched a gift card program that works at the counter and in Apple and Google wallets. In under two years it brought in over $20,000 in gift card sales, with a 68% redemption rate and nearly $18 spent per redemption.

Sell an experience, not just a dollar amount
Turn your most popular service into a gift, like "One 60 minute massage" or "A family portrait session". A named experience is easier to give than a number, and it shows the recipient exactly what to book.

Switch it on in the tools you already use
Booking and payment tools like Square and Vagaro include digital gift cards. Turn them on, set three amounts, and add your logo. For most businesses this is a short settings job, not a project.

Put it where happy clients will see it
Add a "Gift Cards" link to your main menu and a one line mention on your booking confirmation page. A client who just booked is the person most likely to give you as a gift.

Make last minute giving easy
Choose instant email delivery so someone can buy at 10pm on December 23 and still have a gift to give in the morning. Your gift card never misses a shipping cutoff.

Add one gift card product
Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and WooCommerce all support gift cards, either built in or through an app. Create one product with a few set amounts, like $25, $50, and $100, and keep the design simple and on brand.

Link it from the menu and the cart
Put "Gift Cards" in your top menu and add a short line on the cart page for shoppers who can't decide. Undecided buyers should never have to search for it.

Feature it in your last shipping day email
When it's too late to ship a parcel in time, an emailed gift card still arrives on time. Make it the main message of your final holiday send.

Plan for the January visit
Recipients come back after the holidays with a balance to spend. Have a "New Year favorites" collection ready to greet them, so their first visit turns into a basket, not a single item.

1️⃣ The rule change: Add a digital gift card to your site and link it from your main menu before the holiday rush.

2️⃣ Why it works: It removes the "what do they want?" doubt for gift buyers, and nearly 60% of shoppers say they would spend beyond a card's value.

3️⃣ The result: Holiday sales you might otherwise miss, cash upfront, and new customers walking in during the new year.

🔎 For this week's website review, let's look at Farmhouse Chocolates. Farmhouse Chocolates is a small batch chocolate maker in Bristol, Vermont, run by makers Erlé and Eliza, selling organic caramels, truffles, and bars that ship across the US.

💡 The Good:

Shipping answered at the buy button
"$10 flat-rate shipping anywhere in the US" sits right under the price on each product page, and a short FAQ on the same page explains which days orders ship. Shoppers get the cost and the timing before checkout, which takes away a big reason to hesitate.

A corporate gifting page that does the work
The gifting page offers three bundles with clear "From $35", "From $75", and "From $105" prices, then explains the process in three steps: share a list, approve one invoice, and every box ships with your message. A busy office manager can say yes in minutes.

Product pages that answer the practical questions
Each product lists storage temperatures, shelf life, allergens, and a note that gift messaging is available. For a food gift, those are exactly the questions that stall a purchase, and they are answered right on the page.

🔧 Suggestions:

Add a gift card for the undecided
Searching the site for "gift card" only brings up chocolate bundles. A digital gift card in a few set amounts would catch shoppers who love the brand but can't pick a flavor for someone else, and it never melts in transit.

Split the Gifting menu in two
The "Gifting" link goes straight to the corporate page, so someone shopping for their mom lands on talk of spreadsheets and invoices. A "Gifts for friends and family" page beside "Corporate gifts" would send each shopper to the right place in one click.

Swap "Get Started" for a clear outcome
A couple of buttons on the corporate page just say "Get Started", which tells visitors nothing about what happens next. A label like "Create my corporate account" or "Start my gift list" sets expectations and makes the click feel safer.

See you next time for another simple, high-impact strategy!

The LOGO Editorial Team