Why gift cards work so well for local businesses
Physical gift cards require hardware, plastic card inventory, and a POS integration. Digital gift cards require none of that. A customer buys online, receives a code by email, and redeems it when they visit. The entire flow takes under 60 seconds on both ends.
The economics are compelling for three reasons:
Breakage revenue — gift cards that are bought but never redeemed. You keep the full amount for nothing delivered. Entirely legal.
Average overspend — customers redeeming a gift card spend 38% more than the face value on average. A $75 card becomes a $103 visit.
Time to get paid — money hits your account before the customer even sets foot in your door.
Step 1 — Set up your gift card products
Before you can sell, you need to create your gift card products. You have two options:
Set specific amounts: $25, $50, $100, $150. Best for businesses where you want to anchor the purchase decision. Most customers will pick the middle option.
Let customers enter any amount between $25 and $500 (or whatever range you set). Works well for high-ticket businesses like spas where the right amount varies by service.
Keep it simple to start — one or two products is better than six. You can always add more later. Name them clearly: "Gift Card — Any Amount" is fine. You don't need a clever product name.
Step 2 — Get a shareable link and put it everywhere
Your storefront URL is the link you share everywhere. It's usually something like shopolo.app/your-business. This single URL shows your gift cards, loyalty program, and online ordering — whatever features you have enabled.
Where to put it:
Step 3 — Time your promotion around gifting seasons
Gift cards are impulse purchases. People buy them when they're trying to solve a gift problem — not because they remembered your brand. You need to be visible when those moments happen.
The top five gifting moments for local businesses:
The biggest window. Most gift cards sell in the 48 hours before Christmas. Start promoting December 1.
Second highest volume. Spas, salons, and restaurants all see a spike. Put your link in bio the week before.
Strong for restaurants, spas, and experiences. Promote with a 'give the gift of X' angle.
Barbershops, gyms, and restaurants. Lower than Mother's Day but worth promoting.
People search "gift card for [local business]" year-round. Make sure your link is findable on Google.
Step 4 — Promote inside your business
Your existing customers are your best gift card buyers. They already trust you and know people who would enjoy your business.
The most effective in-person promotion is a simple counter card: "Gift cards available online — shopolo.app/your-business" with a QR code. That's it. No staff training required, no conversation needed.
If you have email campaigns enabled, send one email to your customer list in early December, early November, and the week before Mother's Day. Subject line: "Give [Business Name] as a gift 🎁". Click-through rates for gift card emails from local businesses are consistently higher than generic newsletter benchmarks because the intent is clear and time-sensitive.
Redeeming gift cards at the counter
When a customer comes in with a gift card to redeem:
Partial redemptions are tracked automatically — if someone has a $100 card and spends $65, their card shows $35 remaining. They can come back and use the rest.
Shopolo lets you sell digital gift cards from your storefront link in under 10 minutes. 30-day free trial, no setup fees.
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