2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

[Dre D]

How are your 2009 holiday sales doing?

Mine are a bit down from last year, but then I didn't spend $600 on a mailer this season either, so in that regard, I am ahead.

Online sales are picking up.

 

[Yasmine =P]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

We've been doing really good so far. I've been selling an average of 5 a day and there are 5 of us in the shop, so the others are doing about the same. Of course, no one knows who will be doing the actual sessions (excluding sessions bought by family for regulars) but gift card usage is pretty evenly divided among us.

The past couple of years we've done about $8000 in gift cards around the holidays. We're hoping we'll at least match that this year. Be nice to go over it though!

 

[cody g]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

My SO says I should complain more about it. Because, it seems when I complain, I check my email and I have sold a few certificates. People have also started calling to ask when someone will be around to sell gift certificates.

So, I am going to complain again.

Gift certificates are going kind of slow so far. :roll:

 

[Pompal 09.]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

LOl. Our seems to be the opposite approach - when we get feeling down about not being busy, everything seems to slow down. When we think positive, act positive ('Ok, today we are going to get 4 walkins and and sell a huge amount of gift cards!') things pick up.

I'm off Mondays and when I came in this morning, I was told that they sold almost $1000 worth of gcs yesterday, $870 something I think. I think it's easier when you're able to offer packages and different services as we are - we wouldn't reach this numbers on massage alone, I'm sure. We created 2 separate Christmas packages and we all pitched in ideas on a 'Create Your Own Spa package' deal for $99, and choosing 3 services from a list of 10. That has gone over really well.

 

[afosa_ragazza]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Well, this is the first year I have actively (have a sign in the window) sold GC's. Funny thing is, I am giving away more than selling.

So far I have given away 9 (full hours)! And, that's ok with me. The need was there and I thought it would be a nice thing for me to do.

Maybe I'd better go back to being less active about them! *hehehe*

 

[CupCake =)]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

This is the first year I am not pushing sales. Mostly they just seem to be a pain in the butt and not many become return clients.

So far the few I sold were just to clients buying for other clients (spouses, best friends). Total amount not anything to write home about.

 

[stupidone!]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

I kept meaning to "do something" to promote GC sales for the season- but things have been so hectic and topsy-turvey (more to do with home life than business life, but it all still messes with my head and timing the same. So I haven't expected many GC sales for this year. WE do have a sign in the window- never got the yard sign I meant to put out along the street, and we're not a high walking-traffic area (nobody could see my "Gift Certificates Available" sign in the window from the street.

Imagine my delight when a call was forwarded from the office to my cell phone (we weren't open yet), and a lady asked if I could meet her there to sell her TWO gift certificates for her child(-ren)'s teachers- she'd had all the parents pool funds so these are classroom gifts! She said that she'd heard "excellent things" about us- apparently someone who works in a local restaurant has been in... two someones, in fact. Now we need to go eat out sometime and see if we can hunt down the referrers, to thank them! Hopefully, these WILL be redeemed- we'd love to "get in with" the local school folks!

 

[Marinoska]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

I have only sold 1 gc this holiday season so far. It is just me, so people can't just stop by. I do sell them online. On the upside I am still busy with regulars clients

 

[rockin_robin07]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Sales are picking up. seems to be less certificates but larger amounts. I have had a number of sales for over $100 and a couple for more than $200.

Some of these large ones are for existing regular clients and some are for new clients.

 

[Michael J]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Update for me: No more sales yet, but I'll be giving 20 GC's (full hours again) to a Pilates company that is about 15 mins. from my office. I have known two of the pilates instructors and one feldenkrais instructior there for a little over two years now, and just tonight was able to attend their annual Open House/Christmas party. I have been meaning to work at getting my hands on more like-minded professionals, and since they have 20 instructors there, it gives me a chance to show the entire group how we work. I'll admit, I've found that getting my hands on another professional for an hour is generally an excellent way to thoroughly demonstrate my work.

Uhm............ I guess I should say I am promoting and apparantly not selling GC's this year.

Strange how that works. I don't mind though (or I wouldn't offer). It'll all work out in the wash. :shocked: :grin: t004

 

[Talltail]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Ours were going gangbusters until 24" of global warming fell overnight and wiped out the last shopping weekend before Christmas. $1500 alone yesterday, was expecting over $2000 today and tomorrow.

 

[Britta]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Ours were going gangbusters until 24" of global warming fell overnight and wiped out the last shopping weekend before Christmas. $1500 alone yesterday, was expecting over $2000 today and tomorrow.

Do you do online sales? That helps a ton, and it takes more than 24" to take out the internet.

 

[Carolina Flyboy]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Yeah, we didn't even open the shop today. I was up to get ready for work and looking outside wondering if I would be able to make it to a main road (live out in the country) and the phone rang. The shop owner said she had a heck of a time even getting to the shop and was going to head right back home again. No one was going to come get a massage or buy a gc. I hope that whomever was planning on buying one will be in this week to get it, but it really hurts that this snow came this weekend, of all times. Just heard on the TV that we haven't had a snowfall of this magnitude in DE in over a hundred years. Our bad weather usually comes in Jan/Feb. It isn't supposed to stop for another 12 hours or so and it's drifting BAD out there. My son's Toyota is completely covered.

 

[cambay]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Mine have been about average, but the bulk of my GC sales tend to come on the 23/24th via online sales.

 

[Tia]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Our GC sales are pretty decent, though not much better than last year. We do most of our sales at the store, but get some telephone orders as well. We'd like to see another $15-30k in GC sales this coming week. Our poor receptionists are really hopping to keep up!

Today we rolled out our first-ever eShop with a brief selection of GC and package options. It's still a bit rough around the edges, so please let me know if you have any tips/suggestions to improve it. It's short notice before Christmas, but we have a large e-newsletter subscription list that has been notified. Once past the holidays, we'll keep it going and see how it impacts GC sales throughout the year. The online specials, of course, will change now and then.

 

[John Lennon]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

Our GC sales are pretty decent, though not much better than last year. We do most of our sales at the store, but get some telephone orders as well. We'd like to see another $15-30k in GC sales this coming week. Our poor receptionists are really hopping to keep up!

Today we rolled out our first-ever eShop with a brief selection of GC and package options. It's still a bit rough around the edges, so please let me know if you have any tips/suggestions to improve it. It's short notice before Christmas, but we have a large e-newsletter subscription list that has been notified. Once past the holidays, we'll keep it going and see how it impacts GC sales throughout the year. The online specials, of course, will change now and then.

I really like the idea of the corn/rice packs with the sale of a GC. I wish I thought of that :

 

[Transitional CatBunny]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

I just signed up for the printable gift cards with Spaboom.com. Does one find that clients like this better?

 

[applegrance]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

I just signed up for the printable gift cards with Spaboom.com. Does one find that clients like this better?

My clients will print or email the SpaBoom certificates pretty much equally - it depends on whether they want to or are able to hand the GC to the recipient or if they need it to be emailed. I also do a fair share of manual gift certificates - people will call me, and I'll print my own and either mail them out or, if they are here in town, deliver it myself.

The more options, the better!

 

[noelleybelly]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

My GC sales this past year were the best to date. I do not sell online. Seems to get a bit better every year as we grow!

 

[jeeze s]

2009 Holiday Gift Certificate Sales

I just opened my business this October so I'm very new. But I sold 8 G.C. the month of december. So i was super happy with that.