A gift certificate is one way to give your friends holiday money to use as they see fit. A certificate is a more festive and enjoyable gift option than just “money in an envelope.” Certificates come in physical and digital e-certificates for online shopping. But not everyone likes certificates. Therefore, doubts arise and want to deal with who it is suitable for and when you should not give a certificate. Vitaliy Klymenko, Editor In Chief in Slotamia, has detailed this topic.
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What is a certificate?
In its essence, a certificate is similar to a bank card. The donor “loaded” it a certain amount, and the giver can buy himself a gift for his birthday or other occasion in the store that issued the certificate for the available amount. If you have chosen an item that costs more than the certificate amount, you can always add the missing part to your funds. If it is cheaper and there is some amount left on the certificate, it will “burn” when the certificate expires.
Who should not be given a certificate?
The main reason why some certificates (5-10% in different countries) remain unused is that people forget about them. Therefore, it is not recommended to give certificates to family and friends aged 45+, especially if this person is used to shopping in a particular manner. For example, going to stores of one brand or paying only in cash. This applies to work colleagues as well. In this case, opt for the “gift money” option.
To whom to give certificates
Give certificates to friends and loved ones. If a person is a fan of a certain retail chain, give them a certificate for this network. In addition, pay detailed attention to the interests of your loved one. For example, a gamer can be given a gaming certificate to buy licensed games, but a fan of gambling cannot. Authoritative services such as https://slotamia.com/ have not yet come up with a system of bonuses and certificates. However, the game will be interesting and involved even without this feature. A gambling gift, in this case, can be a trip to poker or a team game.
If you give a certificate to a teenager and he has never used such a gift – visit the store with your child and help make the first purchases. Together with children, you will have a great time!
Take into account preferences. Girls will gladly take the opportunity to visit a cosmetics store or a boutique with clothes. Housewares stores also issue certificates, which will be a good gift choice for moms. But don’t give it to a girlfriend. She may see the certificate from the cookware store hint at the “place of a woman – the kitchen” and be very offended, even if it is about elite dishes. It is better to find out her preferences in advance.
Rules of etiquette
The first rule concerns the amount. If the average check of the selected store is $ 300, then the certificate amount should not be less than half of this check. Do not give a certificate to a Gucci boutique for the amount of 10 dollars if there are no goods in this price range.
Before buying a certificate, you should analyze the product range. Formulate ideas for yourself about what is available in the store that could buy your friend/acquaintance for whom the certificate is taken.
The second rule concerns psychology (and laziness). Let’s say your father smokes, and you and your friends have met a very interesting tobacco for hookah, and in this store, there is an opportunity to take a gift certificate. Giving your dad a tobacco store certificate is a bad idea. People don’t tend to do two new actions at the same time (buy a product from a new store and make a purchase in a new way), so there’s a chance you’ll be scolded for the tobacco.
Certificates are issued by:
- retail chains;
- restaurants and cafes;
- beauty salons
- sports clubs and fitness centers.
Large retail chains issue certificates in two forms: physical and digital. The digital one is a code. It can be entered when you form an order (put the goods in the cart). It will be automatically used when calculating the final purchase amount. Restaurant gift cards are also created in two variants (physical/digital). The physical certificate can be redeemed when you pay your bill with a card reader, while the digital certificate can be redeemed through the restaurant’s online application.
Smaller companies issue gift certificates in physical form only. These include sports centers and beauty salons. Remember that digital gift card codes can be stored in the Google Pay and Apple Pay mobile wallet app and used when paying for goods at partner stores that cooperate with Google and Apple.
The unrivaled perks of a gift certificate
- you can use the certificate if you don’t know what to buy from your preferred gift list;
- the recipient can buy what they want and when they want.
But all of the above are obvious things. The main benefit is that with a certificate, parents can teach their teens how to spend money and how to properly allocate their own resources. By giving a certificate, you show that you consider your child an adult and trust him to make important decisions. You are in control, but the control is subtle and does not irritate the teen with distrust.
