Survey Finds Gift Cards are Preferred Workplace Gifts; Bulk Purchase Program Addresses all Employers’ Gift Card Purchasing Needs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 29, 2015. Gyft, First Data’s leading digital gift card platform, today announced the launch of its business-to-business bulk gift card purchase program. Just in time for the holiday season, businesses can now enjoy a free, easy-to-use and time-saving solution where they can choose to reward their employees with a gift card from over 200 popular retailers. Gifting is no easy feat, as demonstrated by Gyft’s recent workplace survey that found that employers need to step up their gifting game this holiday season.

Bah Humbug: 47% of Employees will Appreciate Employers More if they Receive a Good Gift   

In the survey participated by more than 1,000 U.S. working consumers conducted by SurveyMonkey, Gyft found that 47% of respondents appreciate their employer more when they receive a gift. Out of the companies that did give gifts, 12% of employees reported receiving company branded materials, sweets or fruitcakes. Even more interesting, respondents reported receiving items like hand sanitizer, a squeegee, and even half of a candy cane. It’s a misstep employers cannot afford, considering the effect a gift can have on employee morale.

It’s in the Cards: It’s the Gift that Counts for Majority of Workers

Considering how important gifting can be in the workplace, it’s crucial to know which gift will go furthest with employees. The answer: the gift card. The survey revealed that over half (63%) of workers agree that a gift card is the workplace holiday gift of choice. It’s the preferred option for gift givers, too. The survey found that 35% of respondents give gift cards because it allows the recipient to get what they want. And, for a large percentage (42%), it gets rid of gifting uncertainty about the recipient’s preferences or tastes.

Buy in Bulk: Deliver the Perfect Individualized Gift Every Time with No Extra Fee

Gyft is introducing a new bulk gift card purchasing program that helps businesses better reward and incentivize their employees. The streamlined program allows businesses to purchase digital gift cards in bulk and eliminates problems such as wasted time purchasing individual gift cards, impossible tracking, lost cards, shipping costs, limited availability in gift card retailer choices, and the general inefficiency of older gift card programs.

After creating an account, the HR manager can quickly start ordering and sending gift cards in just a couple steps: uploading a spreadsheet of their recipients’ information, then choosing the gift card retailer and denomination, branding and customizing the email that gets sent to the recipients. Because everything is digital, the manager can then track which gift cards were sent and received, while having an extra layer of security so he/she does not have to worry about lost cards or fraud issues. Additionally, the program is completely free – there are no service, transactional, activation, or any other types of fees. Gyft also gives instantaneous access to over 200 retailers, so businesses have a plethora of gift card choices so their employees can receive exactly what they want.

“Traditionally, buying gift cards in bulk was a difficult process that was inefficient and costly,” said George Bowen, Director of Business Development at Gyft. “We’ve changed all that. Now businesses can instantly deliver a gift card as a meaningful reward or incentive to their employees through our bulk ordering tool.  This recognition enhances the relationship between employee and employer which increases workplace satisfaction, productivity, and retention.”

“It’s an exciting time for Gyft as we’re making a big step into the competitive B2B gift card market, which makes up about half of the $124 billion gift card industry,” said CJ MacDonald, co-founder and COO at Gyft. “We see our bulk gift card program as another way we are innovating the way people buy, send and redeem gift cards.”

About First Data

First Data is a global leader in commerce-enabling technology and solutions, serving approximately six million business locations and 4,000 financial institutions in 118 countries around the world. The company’s 23,000 owner-associates are dedicated to helping companies, from start-ups to the world’s largest corporations, conduct commerce every day by securing and processing more than 2,300 transactions per second and $1.9 trillion per year.

About Gyft

Gyft, a First Data Company, was founded in January 2012 by Vinny Lingham, CJ MacDonald and Mark Levitt with one goal: To disrupt the existing $100 billion gift card market. Gyft is a gift card platform for consumers, businesses, and retailers that enables customers to easily buy, send, manage and redeem gift cards from any device. In 2014, Gyft was acquired by First Data, a global technology leader in the financial services industry. For more information, visit http://business.gyft.com/ for more information.

Media Contact

Lauren Kido
Highwire PR
415-963-4174 ext. 16
gyft@highwirepr.com