While we offer an in-house gift card as well as a Visa gift card, it’s the retail branded gift card range from Blackhawk that works best for us. Shopper feedback is that they feel like they are giving more of a gift by giving a retail store branded gift card whereas the Visa card might as well be cash. Shopper feedback has encouraged us to look at the range of branded gift cards we sell. We’re talking with Blackhawk about expanding the range.
In our shopping centre there are three other outlets selling the Blackhawk gift cards. Since we sell more greeting cards it makes sense for us to get more of the gift card business.
Any newsagent can sell Blackhawk cards. There is no stock cost so the financial risk is minimal. The free merchandising makes selling easy.
I do sell the but I do not push them ,way to low of a margin , I keep them mainly as a last resort gift ,I would prefer them to spend their dollars on anything but gift cards . A couple of % just dosnt cut it anymore
Shaun I agree. It’s the extra we can sell when we don’t have the gift.
Preferred by Shoppers, but they will be unable to buy them from us for the rest of the day.
Apparently we have reached our “daily limit” of $750, according to a message received mid transaction for a customer.
I called Touch support about it and was told that they could increase it to $1000 but that was it – without written approval from the Finance Dept.
This is fine EXCEPT the finance dept is already on holidays and won’t be back until early January. So my Christmas eve trade of gift cards is finished at lunch time….
The comment was made by support that this is the case due to Touch not being paid for these cards by other retailers in the past.
Our store has ALWAYS paid for cards, in fact they help themselves to our bank account every week.
I bet the major supermarkets AREN’T subject to these daily limits.
Subaru I agree with your frustration. I raised this with Touch over the weekend. They have been hit with a surge in fraud by newsagents and implementing the fraud was the most immediate step they could take. They will be reviewing the situation in February and I expect that review to lead to changes in how the handle this for respected and trusted retailers in the future.
Its the fact that no-one from the Finance Dept is even OnCall to handle these types of issues. As reported on the radio this morning in Sydney “the biggest year ever for gift card sales” and we can’t sell any more because of these limitations…
Just to add to the problems, we got some Amart Allsports gift cards from Blackhawk. And they wouldn’t work on our Touch system – the cards are invalid.
Spoke to Touch, who blamed our POS provider, and then Blackhawk for sending out cards prematurely.
Spoke to Blackhawk who got Touch on the phone themselves before Touch admitted they had a system problem that couldn’t be sorted out due to Level 2 Techs being on holidays as well.
Yes, i’m a little frustrated that things can’t be fixed. Our business has to stop because nobody is OnCall??
Speaking for all newsagency software companies – this will never be their issue. It’s the Touch software the POS software companies use. Touch vends the products from Blackhawk.
Touch has acknowledged to me the have not handled this well.
There is too much finger pointing in this industry.
Too much finger pointing, YES.
But also ZERO support when we are the front line for their business. If we are open, someone should be available to support us.
This could easily be done remotely from home – I’ve been there and done that for major corporates before coming into this industry
I agree with that: more newsagency suppliers should provide real support coverage the hours we’re open.
We reached our limit by 11am, can’t believe I’m posting on xmas day, bugger it’s past
11 I’m hitting the esky. Merry xmas all 🙂