Definition
Gift card emails are campaigns focused on promoting, selling, delivering, and encouraging the use of gift cards. Gift cards serve multiple marketing purposes: they generate immediate revenue, introduce new customers (recipients), drive incremental visits, and increase average order value.
Email is the primary channel for gift card marketing because it handles both promotional campaigns and the actual delivery of digital gift cards.
Gift Card Email Types
| Email Type | Audience | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Gift card promotion | Existing subscribers | Encourage gift card purchases |
| Gift card delivery | Gift purchaser | Deliver the digital gift card |
| Gift card receipt | Gift recipient | Welcome the new customer |
| Balance reminder | Gift recipient | Encourage usage of remaining balance |
| Expiry reminder | Gift recipient | Create urgency before expiration |
| Re-gifting prompt | Gift recipient | Prompt to use or transfer the card |
| Holiday campaigns | All subscribers | Seasonal gift card promotions |
Promotional Strategies
- Seasonal campaigns: Promote gift cards for holidays, birthdays, and events
- Bundle offers: "Buy a £50 gift card, receive a £10 bonus card"
- Last-minute gifting: Emphasise instant digital delivery for late shoppers
- Corporate gifting: B2B campaigns for employee or client gifts
- Incentive programmes: Free gift card with minimum purchase
- Referral rewards: Gift cards as referral incentives
Gift Card Delivery Emails
- Send immediately after purchase with clear instructions
- Include both a digital code and a printable version
- Provide clear terms: expiration date, usage restrictions, balance check link
- Add recipient personalization if the purchaser provided details
- Include suggestions for how to use the gift card
- Make it easy to forward or regift
- Follow up with the recipient to welcome them and encourage first use
Best Practices
- Segment gift card buyers for future promotional campaigns
- Track gift card redemption rates to measure full campaign ROI
- Send reminders as gift card expiration approaches
- Use gift card data to personalise recipient onboarding
- Coordinate gift card campaigns with seasonal calendar
- Analyse gift card purchase patterns to optimise promotion timing
Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
Abandoned Cart Email
An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to customers who added items to their online shopping cart but left without completing the purchase. It is one of the highest-converting email types in ecommerce.
AIDA Model for Email
The AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is a classic copywriting framework used to structure email campaigns that guide subscribers from awareness to conversion.
AMP for Email
AMP for Email is a Google-developed framework that allows email messages to include interactive elements like forms, carousels, accordions, and live content. It turns static emails into dynamic, interactive experiences directly inside the inbox.
Anchoring Effect in Email Marketing
The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the first piece of information presented (the anchor) influences subsequent decisions, used in email to frame pricing and value perception.
Announcement Email
An announcement email is a dedicated campaign that communicates a specific update, milestone, or change to subscribers, from product launches and feature releases to company news and events.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gift card emails have higher-than-average click and conversion rates because the intent is clear and the action is simple. Email is the most effective channel for both gift card promotion and delivery, with open rates typically 20-30% higher than standard promotional campaigns.
Promote gift cards during gifting seasons (Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day), before major sales events (so recipients have funds to spend), and as year-round options in your email footer. Last-minute gifting campaigns close to major holidays perform particularly well.
Track gift card units sold, total gift card revenue, redemption rate (percentage of cards used), incremental revenue from gift card recipients, average spend above the gift card value, and new customer acquisition from gifted cards. The full ROI includes both the initial sale and the downstream revenue.