Thinking about snowflakes, gifting strategies, and year-end campaigns might feel premature when you’re still in sandals and catching up from your summer break. But for retailers and consumer brands, now is exactly the right moment to start preparing.
Why? Because the brands that take action early are the ones who end up capitalizing on both B2C and B2B demand, avoiding last-minute chaos, and securing key revenue opportunities before the competition even gets started.
And if you’re still operating without a dedicated gift card or incentive platform: don’t panic. In many cases, your existing promotional voucher infrastructure can be a strong foundation to build on. The key is to not let technological limitations prevent you from leveraging this vital season.
One important reminder: if you have physical stores, your planning will need to account for logistics like card production, stock distribution, and secure activation across your retail network. These processes take time and require coordination across multiple departments.
To help you get ahead of the curve, here are five practical tips for designing and executing a successful end-of-year gifting campaign.
1. Start by Defining Your Objectives: B2C, B2B, or Both?
Before jumping into design or promotions, take a moment to clarify your target audience(s). Are you focusing on individual consumers purchasing gifts for friends and family? Or are you aiming to attract corporate buyers looking to reward employees or thank clients with branded incentives?
Each audience comes with distinct needs, expectations, and buying behavior, and that means your value proposition, messaging, and distribution model should be tailored accordingly. The more precise your segmentation, the more effective your campaign will be.
2. Prioritize Flexibility and Ease of Use
Your gifting experience should be as simple and intuitive as possible, both for individuals and corporate buyers.
Make sure your offer includes:
- Digital and physical card options to meet different preferences.
- Personalization features, such as custom names, messages, or delivery scheduling.
- Flexible denominations that allow users to gift any amount.
- Early planning for physical card printing, packaging, and activation across retail outlets if you sell in-store.
The goal is to eliminate friction. The smoother the journey, the higher the likelihood of conversion, especially during a high-stress, high-volume time of year…
3. Use Creative Promotions to Stand Out
The end-of-year gifting landscape is crowded, so it’s essential to differentiate your offer. Consumers and businesses alike are bombarded with options, so yours needs to catch their eye.
Consider:
- Time-limited flash deals or discounts for early orders.
- Volume-based promotions, such as “buy 10, get 1 free.”
- Loyalty point incentives for customers who gift.
- Collaborations with other brands or marketplaces to boost visibility.
And if your tech setup doesn’t support dynamic promotions? Don’t let that stop you. Many brands run successful seasonal campaigns using coded voucher systems or one-off landing pages. Simple tweaks can go a long way!
4. Maximize Channel Visibility
Even the best gift card strategy will fall flat if no one knows about it. Beyond your homepage, think holistically about the channels available to you.
Be sure to activate:
- Email newsletters and seasonal campaigns.
- Curated gift guides on your website and blog.
- Paid ads across social media, especially with targeted audiences.
- Placement on major incentive and employee benefit platforms (for B2B visibility).
- Collaboration with marketplaces or retail partners.
Make gifting visible, easy to find, and available where your audiences already are.
5. Align Operations, Support, and Security
The final piece is perhaps the least glamorous, but the most crucial!
Operational excellence is what keeps your holiday campaign running smoothly when order volumes spike and customer questions pile in.
Make sure you’ve addressed:
- Capacity for handling last-minute digital orders and fulfillment.
- Staff training for in-store teams, especially around activation and returns.
- Security and fraud prevention on gift card redemptions.
- Clear and accessible terms and conditions.
Getting these backend elements right means fewer headaches, for both your customers and your team.
Need Help Bringing It All Together?
If you’re short on time, team capacity, or infrastructure, or simply want to scale faster – we can support you.
At RLC Solutions, we help brands like Zalando, Carrefour, Adidas, and Rituals transform gifting from a seasonal afterthought into a core commercial channel. From launching a frontend solution to integrating with top B2B platforms and employee benefits networks, we cover the full gifting journey: digital or physical, local or international.
Let’s make gifting work for you this season!
Book a free consultation with our team!