Get set for the ‘Golden Quarter’ – 18 ways SMEs can drive sales this Christmas

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Springboard for success or harbinger of doom – not a warning from an am-dram Christmas panto, a focus on the importance of the Golden Quarter to small and medium-sized businesses.

October, November and December are critical for businesses of all sizes and sectors. Strong sales can help you hit the ground running in January and drive revenue. A weak performance can make the rest of the year a hard slog.

Jonas Bergström, head of product strategy and marketing at Extenda Retail, puts it like this: “The Golden Quarter is a time where retailers can make a majority of their yearly profits if they prepare.

“Hence, a successful pre-Christmas period can make or break the difference between the company having a successful or unsuccessful year.”

It’s a bit long for a Christmas card, but it’s a good point.

We’ve pulled together some useful advice for SME retailers and B2B businesses to help drive sales at this key time of year and set themselves up for a great 12 months.

A festive feast for all

It’s not just retailers who are looking for golden opportunities in the run up to the festive season. Businesses of all shapes and sizes across multiple sectors can also benefit from the surge in trading activity at this time of the year.

B2B businesses don’t get a free pass at Christmas either. The festive period is a time to remind loyal clients that they matter to you, with gifts and attention helping to reinforce relationships and help keep them on-board into the New Year.

With summer drawing to a close (yes, we know it barely opened), now is the time to start planning your festive marketing strategy. Competition up to the end of the calendar year will be fierce, so it’s vital to stand out from your competitors, particularly if you’re an SME.

Going for gold

For decades Love2shop Business has worked with around 150,000 businesses of all sizes to help them maximise the impact of their customer incentives programmes.

Our Ultimate Guide to Customer Loyalty offers an invaluable blueprint for any business looking to refresh its existing customer loyalty strategy or design one from scratch.

It’s a rich resource for small and medium-sized businesses looking for tips and advice on how to maintain and grow their loyal customer base.

One of the key insights it offers comes from a study by Bain & Company in partnership with Earl Sasser of the Harvard Business School. They found that even a 5% increase in customer retention can lead to an increase in profits of between 25% and 95%.

Imagine increasing sales by that much during the Golden Quarter!

It’s not too late to make the Christmas connection

In the guide, Love2shop also details the importance of building customer loyalty, illustrating the value of customer recruitment and retention.

It found incentives inspire loyalty in up to 93% of consumers, returning customers spend 67% more than new ones and more than 70% will recommend a brand with a good loyalty programme.

According to the guide: “Simply put, customer loyalty is when a business creates within a customer a strong connection. Through engagement with its customer (reward schemes, customer service), product quality and brand values, it can earn favour over its rivals.”

Small and medium-sized businesses may only now be looking at this, while larger rivals may have been operating a loyalty and retention strategy for some time. But even if you start now, you can see benefits through the Golden Quarter and, by continuing through the year, you can increase those benefits over time.

Here are some great ideas to fill your customers with Christmas cheer – and none of them include singing!

  1. Sleigh it on social media: Consumer intelligence experts at Meltwater report that, as of January 2023 over 57m people in the UK were social media users with 86.4% on at least one platform. Get your festive offers out on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter) and Threads. Maybe you can even persuade your team to do a TikTok video for major impact.
  2. Crack open your mulled drink of choice and hold an event: If you have a bricks-and-mortar location, for the price of a few bottles of wine (or soft drinks) and some nibbles you can create a real buzz with a festive-themed event. Offer discounts, special deals and spot prizes to those who attend. Give it a twist with a competition – we love a ‘best Christmas jumper’ contest ourselves!
  3. Send out holiday cheer in an email campaign: According to Statista email marketing revenues are on an upward curve. They are projected to top $10bn (£7.9bn) in 2023. If you already have a good, GDPR-compliant customer database, now is the time to make it work. Create a campaign designed to engage customers – send messages out regularly, weekly for example, and give them early warnings about upcoming festive offers, exclusive competitions and promotions and new product information. Offering loyal customers ‘special’ treatment is a great way to strengthen your relationship with them.
  4. Dish out some early Christmas presents: Everyone loves a free gift. What better way to incentivise your customers and make them feel valued than by offering them e-code rewards? Perhaps that is driven be a promotional sales offer or by making a qualifying purchase. Or perhaps you run an event where any purchase can spin a wheel and randomly have a chance to win instantly. Giving customers the feeling of getting something valuable back can create a strong connection to your brand. Love2shop can demonstrate how e-codes can be delivered to recipients swiftly via email or text.
  5. Encourage customers to share the love: When we find a brand we love – and that seems to love us back – we want to share it. Referral experts Saasquatch claim 14% of customers offered incentives to refer your business will do so. Christmas is the perfect time to reward successful referrals, with Love2shop multi-retailer gift cards one of the most successful incentives for brand referrals.
  6. Say it from the heart: People like to have their heartstrings pulled a little at Christmas – and they like to see the personality behind the brand. Create some stories around your products and people. Use social media to build a narrative around who you are and be authentic. John Lewis does this brilliantly every year with its much-anticipated festive TV ad but don’t try to be them, give your communications your own, unique voice and tone.
  7.  Something special for someone special: Key customers are not only reliable and high value to our business, as our leading loyal clients often they are the starting point for positive reviews and the word-of-mouth recommendations that attract new customers. Christmas is a great time to say thank-you to those key customers, particularly if your business is B2B. A Christmas card with a gift card inside will help them feel appreciated and reinforce their positive view of your business. Love2shop are the experts here, offering personalised Christmas cards and multi-retailer vouchers to help you send a message to those special customers.
  8. Let them into the toy factory: If your business is retail, you know that customers often find deciding what to buy for whom stressful at Christmas. Retailers such as Amazon and Boots have nailed the trick of dividing products into sections such as ‘for me’, ‘for women’, ‘for kids’ etc. Take a look at your own product range and see if you can curate a festive collection to help your customers easily find the perfect gift.
  9. Launch a Christmas countdown: This is a great one for businesses that like to engage through social media. Launch your own Christmas Advent calendar. Create a series of offers, product highlights or opportunities to win that you can post and promote each day in the run-up to Christmas. It’s a great way to get social followers to interact with your brand and even drive purchasing decisions at this golden time.
  10. Make Christmas a holiday for all: Christmas is, of course, a Christian festival but your customer base almost certainly includes people of all faiths and none – and at Christmas most people like to take part in festive fun regardless of religion. Create your Christmas messaging thoughtfully, focusing on the season of goodwill and messages of giving and joy to make everyone feels comfortable and happy to join in with your Christmas activity.
  11. Season’s greetings: People love to feel loved – and a simple thank you can go a long way. Why not send out a heartwarming message, via email and social media, thank your customers for their support throughout the year. It doesn’t even have to be in response to a purchase, so long as you have permission to contact them, a nice festive thank you message will make them feel valued. If you like you could even add a little reward too.
  12. Think about those doing Christmas on a budget: The rising cost of living has affected people across society and many of your customers may still be feeling the effects. They may have even fallen away a little, with their expendable income shrinking. Offering them discounts or cheaper ‘stocking filler’ offers tells them you remember them and may ensure they make some sort of purchase from you in the lead-up to Christmas.
  13. Give charity or community projects some cheer: Ethical positions are having an increasing influence on both consumer and client habits. More and more, they are choosing to buy from retailers or work with businesses that have an authentic position on important environmental and moral matters. Smaller businesses can find space here too. By teaming up with a local charity or good cause such as food banks, local wildlife or environmental groups for example, you can make a real contribution to issues in your area and give your customers a reason to feel positive by supporting you.
  14. Get your customers into the festive spirit: Got a physical store or office? Great, crack open the tinsel and baubles and cry ‘Yuletide for all!’ Are you digital-only? No problem, you can use fun graphics, pictures and animations such as falling snowflakes when people click on your website. Whatever you choose to do, make it inclusive and fun and remember to keep the focus on what your customers need. Fun and purpose working hand-in-hand is a strong combination if you want to encourage customer loyalty.
  15. Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, we love sustainability: As we mentioned earlier, environmental matters are something that more customers are paying attention to. Do you offer products that are sustainable sourced? If so, make sure you tell people! For example, Love2shop works with some partners to supply biodegradable gift cards made from sustainable card, allowing them to reward customers responsibly. Businesses that demonstrate authentic environmental credentials are getting noticed for it as people place importance on doing the right thing. And we should all be doing our bit to save our world anyway, don’t you think?
  16. Spread the cheer with influencers: Social media sites such as Instagram and TikTok are increasingly populated by so-called ‘influencers’. These are people with large followings who may be prepared to promote your products. While they can be a powerful marketing tool, the costs can be astronomical. For small or medium-sized businesses, focus on identifying existing customers with followers say, up to 10,000, or contacting social influencers with this kind of audience that fit with your target customers. Businesses are often surprised that these ‘microinfluencers’ are aware of their brands and keen to work with them. Don’t be afraid of starting a conversation via their DMs (direct messages).
  17.  ‘Tis the season to make things sparkle: People associate Christmas with fun and colour, take advantage by changing the way you package up your products. Can you work your branding into a Christmas theme? Or include some little surprises within the package that make it memorable, like free festive-themed gifts. Don’t underestimate the power of visual appeal. Whether in-person or from a distance, with a little thought you can create a festive customer experience to remember.
  18. Timing is everything: Whatever you decide to put in your festive marketing strategy, choose when to activate it carefully. Starting your Christmas marketing push in August may just annoy people and have the opposite effect going into the Golden Quarter. Let autumn settle in and, once Halloween has been spirited away, give the snowglobe a shake.

Remember, incentives and engagement are at the heart of all successful festive marketing ideas. Many people are in the mood to buy and are primed to receive gifts, making it a rich time for brands willing to reach out and engage with them.

Similarly, for B2B businesses, the approach to Christmas is a time when giving thanks and appreciating those clients who have supported us over the last 12 months is front and centre. How you do it is up to you. No-one knows your customers or clients better. But at Love2shop our team of experts has worked across every sector of business to provide the platform and products on which successful customer campaigns are built.

When it comes to customer recruitment and retention programmes, we’re happy to share our decades of experience to make your Golden Quarter truly shine.

Get in touch with our team today or visit business.love2shop.co.uk to find out how we can help.

Avoid the Christmas rush and plan your rewards now

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Although it’s still August and the barbecue may be sizzling in the garden, Christmas is not that far away.

Now is exactly the right time to start planning how you want to recognise the hard work and achievements of your employees at the end of the year.

2023 has been another challenging year for both individuals and businesses across the UK. Although they’ve eased a little, energy prices remain high, helping fuel inflation, making goods and services across the board more expensive.

But thanks in large part to the hard work and imagination of their staff, companies and organisations are weathering the storm. UK employers are showing remarkable resilience through one of the toughest economic periods in decades.

Christmas is a great time to show employees that you appreciate their contribution – this year maybe more than ever. Many businesses typically wait until October, November or even later to start planning Christmas bonuses, gifts or parties for staff. But that old adage ‘it’s the thought that counts’ still holds true. It’s better to plan early and do it properly.

Don’t just give, make staff feel valued

Every savvy husband or wife knows a well-planned gift or surprise is worth a lot more than a bunch of flowers and a card from a petrol station grabbed at the last minute.

The same goes for gifting and rewarding employees. There are different ways employers can think about rewarding their teams this Christmas and, surprisingly, HMRC offers some help in this area.

The Trivial Benefits exemption allows you to give employees tax-free, non-cash gifts of up to £50 per person. So what kind of gifts are we talking about?

The best, most flexible way to give using this provision is gift cards or e-codes. The team at Love2shop Business are the experts in this area. For decades they have been working closely with more than 150,000 employers across multiple sectors, delivering gift card and contactless e-gift card products that allow you to give the gift of choice to your team.

Avoid the Christmas party pressure?

The traditional Christmas party is a festive staple but with the increased cost of living crisis still affecting everyone, would your employees thank you for giving it a miss?

While research from events experts Togather reveals that the average cost-per-head to a business for a works Christmas party is £70, there are deeper costs for your employees to consider.

Even if as an employer you plan to cover the entire cost of a meal, venue hire and drinks, your team will still face the cost of taxis or accommodation, outfits, and other additional expenditure they probably haven’t planned for. The rising cost of living means many find it harder to afford a big night out, so perhaps this year it’s worth looking at a different approach.

Small gifts, big rewards

In 2022, Love2shop published its first Employee Value Report following a UK-wide survey of workers. This found that almost 10m UK workers – around a third of the total workforce – felt undervalued at work.

This coincided with the rise of the phenomenon known as ‘the Great Resignation’. This saw an increasing number of people willing to leave jobs where they didn’t feel appreciated or sufficiently well rewarded.

Consequently, a hefty 74% of dissatisfied employees, according to the study, were ready to up sticks and look for another job.

The good news, however, was that for those employers willing to give a little, the benefits were huge. The report found 76% of employees felt valued or recognised when their employer spontaneously gave them a gift, with 52% adding that the feeling of value it gave them made them more productive.

It also discovered that 60% of employees ranked days off, flexible working and multi-retailer gift cards as the best forms of workplace gifting. They are proven to be a powerful addition to any staff retention strategy.

Love2shop is one of the UK’s leading gifting brands. Offering, gift cards, contactless digital e-gift cards and physical vouchers, Love2shop products are accepted by around 150 retailers nationwide.

These include well-known brands such as Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Matalan, Argos, Costa, Harvester, Tui, Jet2Holidays and many, many more.

Bring some festive cheer

One of the more interesting aspects of the Employee Value Report was an insight into how people used their gift cards – with many putting them towards groceries.

Of course, most will still use them to purchase a treat for themselves or their loved one but it was a sign of the economic climate we are in that using gift cards to help offset the weekly food shop – or even their Christmas dinner!

So planning ahead to ensure your employee Christmas gifts are sorted soon means you can present them earlier. This will help your team plan to reduce the cost of Christmas and bring a whole new dimension to the ‘season of goodwill’. A gift card today is much more than just a token of appreciation. It can provide a lifeline at Christmas, a time of the year when many people find their finances squeezed.

Beat the rush

As we stated earlier, proper planning is essential when it comes to getting rewards right. The closer we get to Christmas, the more lead times and postal pressures can have an impact. There is also a level of expectation from employees today around workplace gifting and appreciation. According to Love2shop retailer Marks & Spencer: “As well as elevated business demands, employee expectations have increased, too.

“Staff are no longer content with a bottle of wine or box of chocolates from their employer at Christmas. They expect to be treated to thoughtful gifts regularly throughout the year – to reward performance, celebrate special occasions and ‘just because’.”

The Love2shop Business team are here to help. Start thinking about your Christmas rewards programme today, even if you are sat on the beach, and get in touch with our team to discuss our range of products and services.

The clock is ticking – the deadline to order Christmas gift cards featuring your own business branding or any personalised features is October 20.

Employers and managers are busy with what is happening today, of course. But that is all the more reason to plan our Christmas rewards in advance and ensure we don’t put ourselves under more pressure as the festive season approaches.

Rewards are a powerful motivator when it comes to productivity and staff retention. Give well thought-out rewards to your team and they are more likely to reward you with a motivated and driven workplace.

For more information or to contact the team visit business.love2shop.co.uk.

Five ways your business can mark the Coronation of King Charles III

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The bank holiday for the Coronation of King Charles III is upon us. Across the UK people are preparing to mark the occasion with street parties, family gatherings and more.

Given we’ve not seen a coronation since 1953, how can your businesses join in with the festivities in a positive way – can this historic event help strengthen your relationship with your employees?

We’ve compiled a list of five ways to bring the coronation to life in your workplace – from themed events to spontaneous gifts – to help you make the most of this rare event.

1: Host a coronation-themed team lunch

Employees want to know they are valued, both for their contribution to the business and as individuals. Holding a coronation-themed lunch is a great opportunity to get together and catch up with our colleagues on a personal level.

You can even enjoy decorating your workplace with bunting and flags together to really get into the spirit of the occasion.

2: Help them celebrate with a surprise gift

The extra bank holiday, as well as the expected national celebrations, may leave some employees worrying about whether they can afford to take part. Others may simply be grateful for a mid-month boost.

Consider offering staff a one-off gift to celebrate the occasion. Under HMRC’s Trivial Benefits rules, we can give each employee up to £50 in gift vouchers tax-free, helping them make the most of the coronation weekend.

Order Love2shop Contactless Gift Cards through www.highstreetvouchers.com to be delivered straight to their inbox the same day, so there is no waiting for the post!

3: Organise an environmental team away day

Before ascending to the throne, King Charles III was a great supporter of environmental causes and charities – and he remains so.

If taking time out is not possible – for example hospitality and retail will be extremely busy over the bank holiday – arrange a team away day later in the month instead. Supporting a local environmental project is the perfect way to celebrate the coronation – plus it’s inclusive as anyone who really isn’t interested in the Royal Family can simply enjoy helping out.

The Wildlife Trusts is a collection of grassroots voluntary groups dedicated to making a positive impact on the environment. Supported by the Prince of Wales Charitable Fund, search for local opportunities to volunteer with them here: www.wildlifetrusts.org/closer-to-nature/volunteer

4: Give them an early finish

There is an extra bank holiday this month, but an unexpected early finish to start the celebrations early on Friday is a great way to help employees start the weekend.

Whether they are preparing for a street party or hosting family or friends, the extra time will ease any stress they feel about being ready for the party.

5: Host a charity fundraiser

The King and Queen Consort are supporters and patrons of numerous charities, so why not have a little fun raising money for one of them?

From a bake sale to a step-count challenge, even a sponsored walk later in the year. Whatever works for our colleagues, fundraisers can be a great way to have fun as a team and increase the feelgood factor at work!

We can support young people to find work or start their own business by donating to the Prince’s Trust – a charity founded by King Charles III.

Alternatively charities that have shared connections to the King and Queen Consort in the past have included Barnado’s and the National Literacy Trust.

However we choose to mark the coronation – or help staff enjoy the extra bank holiday – spontaneous shows of appreciation and gifting at work can have a significant impact on productivity and employees sense of value.

Recent Love2shop research revealed that 52% of employees feel their productivity improves when they feel valued by their employer. With an extra day off this month, that’s surely a good thing!

 

Ramadan Mubarak! How to recognise the Islamic Holy month in the workplace

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The Holy month of Ramadan is one of the most important times of year in the Islamic calendar – so if we’re not Muslim ourselves, how can we respect and celebrate this period of time with our Muslim colleagues?

This year’s Ramadan starts on Thursday 23rd March. During this time most Muslims will fast between dawn and sunset every day for a month. Employers offering flexibility during this period will, in turn, be extending their understanding of what Ramadan means to Muslims.

Our sister brand Park Christmas Savings has produced a brilliant introduction to Ramadan and gifting on their blog, which you can read here.

Consider adjusting working patterns

According to leading HR magazine, Personnel Today, one of the most helpful things an employer can do for Muslim employees during Ramadan is providing flexibility to adjust work patterns. Offering fasting colleagues, the opportunity to start and finish work earlier will be gratefully received.

Remember, employees may be waking up earlier, or staying up later in order to eat. It is very likely people won’t enjoy being around food during the day when they are fasting – well, who would find that easy, let’s face it. This has prompted many organisations to issue polite requests to all colleagues to be mindful about eating at desks as colleagues commit to fasting times. Respecting the challenges of fasting might mean showing your own support by snacking on the elevensies in the canteen or outside maybe?

Another easy change is to allow people to change their lunch break times to avoid times when others are eating.

Allowing hybrid working is another way employers can support Muslim employees, as it reduces their commute and allows people to spend more time with their loved ones during this important time.

Be mindful of employees taking annual leave during Ramadan

Employers should strive to accommodate Muslim employees needing to take time off during Ramadan. Balancing fasting and working is hard and some employees may decide the fairest thing for both them and the business is to take a short break. Being sensitive to that will have a positive effect on employees’ wellbeing and show that you care about more than their daily output.

Know the best times to schedule meetings

If you do have Muslim colleagues, think carefully about the meetings you schedule. Be considerate and avoid arranging lunchtime meetings. Also try to schedule meetings in the morning – when those who have eaten before sunrise are more likely to feel their best.

Providing areas for prayer

Some workplaces already provide dedicated prayer spaces for anyone whose faith requires regular prayer, such as Salat – the five daily prayers of Islam. These take place every day, not just during Ramadan, and usually last around five to 10 minutes. If you have no designated area, employers can allocate a quiet, private room for prayers. When possible, you should allow colleagues to leave the workplace and pray at their local mosque.

Resource bank

Below are some resources for extra reading:

Read our previous blogs…

What is customer acquisition

What is Customer Acquisition?

50 Employee Perks

50 Employee Perks to Offer Staff

What is customer acquisition

Customer Acquisition Strategy

Choosing the right rewards will help your business weather 2023’s early storms

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What challenges will businesses face in 2023 – and how can they overcome them? Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop – guides us through business experts’ forecasts for 2023.

For the first time in a long time, the new year does not herald the unknown. Businesses and households are facing economic challenges set to last until at least midway through the year before experts predict things will begin to slowly recover.

We face a difficult period. But by making the right decisions and focusing on people –employees, customers, partners or resellers – we will be in position to capitalise when the economic upturn comes.

Cast your mind back 12 months. There was a degree of cautious optimism throughout the economy as the world emerged from two dark years of COVID, with experts forecasting a steady recovery.

Within two months, the global economy was in chaos following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It brought war back to Europe triggering a huge rise in energy and food prices that sparked a global inflationary crisis.

We are still living with the impact of that ongoing conflict – recently the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the subsequent recession is currently impacting one-third of the planet. But overall, the economy has settled and become a little more predictable.

There is always a glut of incredible (and not so incredible) predictions for a new year, but I hope you’ll agree that the ones I’ve selected from leading economic experts will offer some words of wisdom for your business in 2023.

A tough start – so make your investment count

In December, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) downgraded its forecast for the UK economy1 which it now believes will contract by 0.4%. It predicts business investment will be 9% below pre-pandemic levels.

This, it adds, will lead to a year-long fall in consumer spending as squeeze on households continues. Inflation is believed to have peaked but will remain significantly above the Bank of England target this year.

Alpesh Paleja, CBI Lead Economist, said: “Another recession in the space of two years is tough-going. A second year of high – albeit falling – inflation will hit households hard, especially those lower down the income distribution.

“With cost pressures remaining high, many businesses will also be operating in a tough trading environment.

“While it’s some consolation that the upcoming recession will be shallow, it’s concerning that longer-term weakness in productivity and business investment appears to be bedding in. It does not bode well for living standards.”

Similarly, the British Chambers of Commerce, (BCC) which represents Britain’s small and medium-sized businesses, is forecasting a recession lasting 15 months for the UK economy2 with a contraction of 1.3% in 2023.

Alex Veitch, Director of Policy at BCC, said: “BCC research has shown that business confidence has been falling for months. Very few firms will be willing to invest as they face a wall of higher prices, interest rates and taxes.”

With such investment pressure, we all need to make sure that the money we do put into business makes a real difference. Within that, I believe it has to retain skills and talent which presents costs and resource challenges which can affect real-time business deliverables.

Real-terms investment in pay is just one way to do that, however. Employees who feel secure and valued by their employer are more likely to stay. Love2shops latest Employee Value Report found that 36% of employees in the UK say their employer never – or hardly ever – acknowledges their work, while 52% believe their output increases when they feel valued.

Showing your workforce appreciation for their work is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve performance and retain talent – it can be as simple as a thank you or an early finish.

For those who want to create a rewarding system that is transparent and fair, there are affordable solutions that can automate the management of employee reward schemes and deliver data on their impact, such our own modular Love2shop Engagement Platform.

But employers who create a culture of respect and appreciation will see a significant impact on business performance in 2023.

Squeezed incomes will hit discretionary spending

Unfortunately, from a consumer perspective, it is likely that the effects of the recession will last most of the year as inflation and interest rates remain high. Households will reduce spending either because they simply do not have any disposable income or they want to keep what they have in case things get harder.

Yael Selfin, Chief Economist at accountancy giant KPMG, said: “The increase in energy and food prices during 2022, as well as higher overall inflation, have significantly reduced households’ purchasing power.

“Rising interest rates have added another headwind to growth. Lower income households are particularly exposed to the mix of current price pressures, as the most affected spending categories largely fall on necessities, with few substitutes in the short run.

“Households are expected to rein in spending on discretionary items in 2023 in response to the squeeze on income.”3

Meanwhile, Richard Walker, Managing Director of frozen food chain, Iceland (available on Love2shop Gift Cards, vouchers and Contactless Digital Mastercard), said basics such as bread and milk were up 50% in 20224, adding: “We are far from out of the woods. Those who are really on a budget and struggling the most will feel it most painfully.”

But all is not lost. Customer loyalty rewards can help businesses of any size to maintain and increase revenue-per-customer.

Despite cutting back, consumers are more likely to remain loyal to brands in which they have trust and where they see value in being a regular customer.

Brands that operate loyalty or reward programmes that engage customers see, on average, a 15%-25% increase in spending, according to management consultancy McKinsey5. As such, it’s important to foster loyalty within your customer base through a strategic reward proposition. This ensures that customers see value in continuing to spend with your business.

Meaningful rewards will improve recruitment and retention

At Love2shop, we have an enormous cross-section of clients and from every business sector you can imagine.

Over the past five decades we have worked with more than 150,000 companies helping them implement engaging loyalty and reward schemes for both customers and employees.

Looking at this rich source of data across a range of economic peaks and troughs, we believe one of the biggest themes for companies in 2023 will be retention. Winning new customers is always a focus but it can be expensive.

The standard rule of thumb is that it costs around five times more to attract a new customer than retaining an existing one, with new customers also tending to have a lower spend until they become loyal advocates.

Meanwhile recent research has proved that increasing retention rates by just 5% can boost margins by between 25% and 95%.

The Great Resignation 2.0

Similarly, recruiting and training a new employee costs significantly more than retaining and developing an existing one.

Eye-opening figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in December revealed that since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in early 2020, around 565,000 people had left the workforce and had become what is called ‘economically inactive’ – in effect they had retired.

This is part of a wider trend that saw almost three million people change jobs during the same period – a phenomenon known as the Great Resignation

It remains to be seen how that plays out in 2023. However, research commissioned by employee wellbeing specialist, Unum UK6, has revealed nearly one-fifth of the UK workforce (19%) plan to look for new jobs in 2023 – sparking fears of a Great Resignation 2.0.

Unum Chief Executive, Mark Till, said: “Between employees planning to seek new jobs for better benefits or a higher salary and those saying they’ll look at the prospect of a second job, more than 10m workers may make big employment decisions next year.

“It’s important for employers to understand these workers’ needs which include better employee benefits.”

Love2shop recently issued its Love2shop Employee Value Report revealing that 75% of employees believe companies who gift or reward staff regularly are likely to attract and retain a better calibre of employee.

The report also found 41% of those who feel undervalued believe regular rewards from their employer – such as additional days off or gift vouchers – would give them a greater sense of value.

It is worth referencing that research from the Gift Card & Voucher Association (GCVA) reveals 39.5% of consumers received at least one gift card over the last three years through work rewards or incentives.

Evidence is mounting that people are becoming more selective when it comes to where they want to work and how they spend their money. Genuinely forward-thinking, evolving businesses are seriously thinking about how they can attract and retain customer loyalty and employee talent to see them through the challenges 2023 holds.

It is abundantly clear that rewards and incentives must play a central role. Only by offering greater genuine value to employees and customers can you expect them to remain loyal to your business. And needless to say, if any reader wants to shoot the reward and recognition breeze, please find me on LinkedIn and I will respond pronto!

 

Sources:

1 – https://www.cbi.org.uk/media-centre/articles/no-new-year-cheer-for-uk-economy-with-productivity-and-business-investment-weakening-cbi-economic-forecast/#:~:text=The%20economy%20is%20likely%20to,%25%20in%20our%20last%20forecast

2 – https://www.britishchambers.org.uk/news/2022/12/bcc-economic-forecast-long-road-to-recovery-after-over-a-year-of-recession

3 – https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2022/12/living-standards-take-a-hit-as-the-uk-enters-protracted-recession.html

4 – https://www.grocerygazette.co.uk/2022/12/19/iceland-boss/

5 – https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/next-in-loyalty-eight-levers-to-turn-customers-into-fans

6 – https://www.unum.co.uk/about-us/media/cost-of-living-crisis

 

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3 ways to maintain productivity if budgets get cut in 2023

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With many HR professionals fearing budget cuts in 2023, how to keep stressed and struggling staff motivated so that your business comes through the recession strong is a real concern.

Across the UK economy, we are seeing workers take action because they are unhappy with their proposed pay awards – and a recent study shows that more discontent could be coming.

Budget cuts

According to a study by HR software company Personio, 55% of HR managers are expecting budget cuts in the coming months and 50% say their senior leadership team doesn’t prioritise employees.

These are worrying stats, as restricted budgets mean low or no pay rises or rewards – which has a direct impact on productivity.

Love2shop’ own research this year revealed that 52% of employees feel their output increases when they feel valued by their employer – so how can you maintain or increase productivity when faced with lower budgets?

Here are three tips to help maintain productivity during times of change and uncertainty.

Stockpile rewards

Rewards don’t have to be expensive to have a big impact – and some can be secured now to carry a company through until the next budget review.

Gift cards like Love2shop can be given as tax-free rewards up to the value of £50 per employee, and are a great way to show appreciation on an ad-hoc basis.

As the end of the financial year approaches, you can buy in gift cards in bulk now  so  if your business tightens the purse strings after April, you have enough  rewards to keep employees feeling motivated and valued well into 2023.

Don’t sacrifice the ‘Great Place to Work’ mentality

Everyone knows how the world of work changed through the pandemic, and hybrid models of working are more popular than ever. Keeping employees motivated and happy is not all about money, but ensuring they are happy.

When it comes to work culture, shifting again – either to a full work from home model to save office costs or a full office-based model to utilise your commercial space – is likely to have a negative impact on output.

In research conducted by employee review site Glassdoor, 58% of hybrid workers said their productivity was increased as a result of the working arrangements, while the same proportion said it had also helped them manage the cost of living crisis.

Give benefits that make a difference

From ‘office dog days’ to dress-down Fridays – some rewards and benefits just don’t cut it, especially in this current climate. Instead, look at other ways you can meaningfully benefit your workforce. For example, fresh fruit deliveries or ‘pizza Fridays’ have a real benefit by helping people save on food spend. Take that one step further and offer them an Everyday Benefits Card – a pre-payment card which offers a 7.5% discount on card loads and can be spent wherever Love2shop gift cards are accepted.

What’s more, employees can keep loading them up – always with the discount – to enjoy savings on everyday essentials all year round.

Want to make sure your business offers cost effective, meaningful employee benefits into 2023? Visit www.highstreetvouchers.com to find out more.

 Everyday Benefits Cards and Love2shop are flexecash products. Flexecash is the prepaid card platform that issues flexecash Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. FRN: 900016.

Love2shop Cards are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such we may need to complete an electronic identity check.

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What UK consumers want from their company this Christmas and beyond?

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Every year we explore what employees want from their employers at Christmas, and beyond, and how you can get workplace gifting right – but in 2022 and 2023 it’s more important than ever.

From high earners to apprentices, inflation and recession are having a significant impact on household budgets and lifestyles. Many workers – even those considered to be in well-paid jobs – have swapped where to eat out for where’s the best value for groceries. Rising costs of energy and goods means the money people may previously have splurged at the shops is now going towards increased bills.

With workers under stress, how can you make sure that your Christmas gifting and your general day-to-day reward and recognition programmes are  well-received and makes a real difference to your employees? And importantly, as businesses also face rising costs, can you do it within a strict budget?

Is there still time to deliver a little something for Christmas 2022? Yes – who would turn their nose up at a digital gift card?

Why should you gift employees?

Many business owners may be reconsidering giving employee gifts this year, (Christmas or otherwise), thinking instead about saving money amid the challenging economic landscape. Others may simply not believe in employee gifting – feeling that the salary individuals receive  for their work is reward enough.

But research commissioned for the Love2shop Employee Value Report this year has revealed that 10 million UK workers – around a third – feel undervalued at work and 79% of those are looking for an alternative job.

Compare that to the fact that 76% reported they felt valued or recognised when their employer spontaneously gave them a gift and you can see that getting gifting right is key to retaining talent and reducing recruitment costs. Bear in mind that the vast majority of those looking for a new job have said that they are willing to stay in return for a simple sign of appreciation. It’s like the old adage: Ps and Ts go a long way.

Don’t know what to gift? Listen to your workforce

The Love2shop Employee Value Report for 2022 found that  60% of employees ranked days off, flexible working and multi-retailer gift cards as the best forms of workplace gifting.

While this is a consistent finding across such polls over recent years, our report found that, with the recession looming, 89% of workers awarded a multi-retailer gift card like Love2shop would not spend it on luxuries or experiences – in fact, they would use it to buy essentials like groceries, freeing up their cash to pay rising bills.

This is a clear indication of the growing pressure we all face and a sign that the most meaningful gift you can give as an employer this Christmas is something to help your colleagues get by.

It’s also worth remembering that small gifts up to £50 do not need to be declared to HMRC and are not subject to tax or National Insurance, which means no additional burden to your business.

A gift that lasts

With workers more likely to spend any extra money on just getting by, there is a certain employer satisfaction you can enjoy in offering a gift that helps them all year round – the Everyday Benefits Card lets a cardholder with an average family size to save over £1,300 each year

This is a prepayment card onto which you can load funds as a gift to each employee. The loaded funds are subject to a 7.5% discount – so every £100 loaded on only costs £92.50 – and employees can top up their funds all year with the same discount.

Their funds can then be spent in more than 90 outlets that accept Love2shop Gift Cards plus they can access additional savings on items like gift cards for major supermarkets, plus you can also pre-load funds onto their Everyday Benefits Card tax-free (up to the value of £50), to give them a little extra boost.

Over to you

If you haven’t set your Christmas staff gifts in stone yet, it’s worth taking a second to reassess your plans, especially during Christmas week when time is short and before you know it we’ll be in 2023. So if you need a quick fix, many business owners are ordering digital gift cards to bring a smile (and a sense of pride) to their teams.

If you want to talk about it, feel free to get in touch. We’ll be here to talk about Christmas right up until the 23rd of December.

Everyday Benefits Cards and Love2shop are flexecash products. Flexecash is the prepaid card platform that issues flexecash Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. FRN: 900016.

Love2shop Cards are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such we may need to complete an electronic identity check.

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Employee rewards don’t have to be taxing

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Rewards aren’t just for Christmas – with the cost of living likely to remain at historically high levels in 2023 employers can offer a helping hand to their staff all year round.

However, business owners and managers may be concerned about both the cost and the possible tax implications of employee rewards schemes. It’s an understandable fear but one that is easily allayed.

We are now in an ultra-competitive recruitment and retention market. The smartest employers recognise there is more to keeping people happy and productive than just the headline salary.

Hiring and keeping the best people is critical to both business continuity and bottom-line profitability.

Creating a positive working environment where people feel safe and engaged to learn and grow is a big part of it. And offering real and tangible rewards is also a fantastic way to help people feel valued. Not convinced? There’s plenty of up-to-date research to back this up.

This year, corporate rewards and employee recognition specialist Love2shop published its Employee Value Report 2022. It found 33% of all UK employees feel undervalued at work. It added that 74% of people said they would look for a new job if they felt undervalued.

So, rewarding your teams leads to higher productivity, better staff retention and increased profits. What’s not to like? You may be worried about the cost of giving, but consider the cost of not giving.

Love2shop are the experts in this field. They have an impressive track record stretching back 20 years – partnering with more than 150,000 businesses to provide rewards and recognition for both staff and customers.

Via the Love2shop physical and digital gift platform and the Everyday Benefits Card, Love2shop offers a suite of options and tailor-made reward programmes.

But what are the tax implications for you and your employees, including those claiming in- work benefits? Rewards can have implications for tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) but there are exemptions.

Here are the facts from the experts at Love2shop…

 Remember the basics

  • Under HMRC’s ‘Trivial Benefits’ scheme a non-cash voucher (one that can only be exchanged for goods and services) up to the value of £50 is tax-free.
  • Non-cash vouchers are not considered as earnings when it comes to calculating Universal Credit

This last point is particularly important for firms that want to reward ‘gig economy’ workers that may operate on a freelance or casual basis. For example, a private hire taxi firm whose drivers are self-employed but who also claim Universal Credit.

HMRC’s Trivial Benefits rules are easy to understand and well worth knowing. As above, a non-cash voucher up to the value of £50 is tax-free.

However, to qualify for the exemption it cannot be a reward for service or recognition of employment. It cannot be included as a contractual obligation and there can be no expectation from an employee it will be offered.

Typical examples could be a voucher to recognise a cultural or religious festival such as Christmas, Diwali or Eid. It could be a voucher given to an employee for a celebration such as a birthday, wedding or new baby. Or perhaps for someone who is unwell.

Most importantly in this tough economic environment, the tax-free exemption applies when an employer wants to support their teams amid the cost of living crisis. This allows the opportunity to provide a lifeline in terms of vouchers for essentials such as food.

And it is vital employers are aware the exemption is not available for rewards that incentivise work performance such as meeting sales targets or to an ‘employee of the month’.

Long service rewards

Many employers like to offer rewards for long-serving team members and HMRC offers an exemption for precisely that scenario. It is useful to know that such a reward could be worth up to £1,000.

To meet the criteria, it must be in recognition of at least 20 years’ service and the employee must not have received a long service award in the previous 10 years. The value of the voucher can be no more than £50 for each year. Which means a 20-year service award could be worth up to £1,000.

Annual events

There are also HMRC exemptions covering annual events – this may typically cover a Christmas party or a summer barbeque. To qualify for the exemption, the event must be annual and has to be open to all employees.

The total cost per head can be no more than £150 (VAT inclusive) and, is it vital to note, this figure is the figure per year not per event. So if you held both a Christmas party and summer barbeque the combined aggregate value must be no more than £150 per head.

PAYE Settlement Agreements

So, we have learned about the £50 voucher limit and the other exemptions. But it is important to bear in mind that rewards or vouchers outside of those exemptions are considered taxable earnings by HMRC.

Employers would ordinarily report the face value of the voucher on the employees Form P11D so it can be recovered by HMRC by adjusting the tax code or via a self-assessment tax return. NICs are also payable on the vouchers during the pay period they are issued.

However, the good news from Love2shop is that there is another way in which employers can minimise the tax liability of their employees and avoid reducing the value of the rewards.

Employers can choose to enter into what is called a PAYE Settlement Agreement (PSA) with HMRC to settle the tax and NIC on behalf of their employees.

This is a binding agreement with HMRC whereby an employer agrees to settle the tax and NICs of its employee. It covers benefits that are considered “minor or irregular” or where it is considered impractical to operate PAYE.

HMRC generally considers non-cash vouchers to be irregular and allows them to be included on a PSA.

An Employer can apply to HMRC for a PSA by setting out in writing the benefits which they want to include and also the tax year in which they wish the PSA to start. The address is:

PAYE Settlement Agreements HM Revenue and Customs BX9 2AN

PSAs are what is known as “enduring agreements”. This means they will remain in place indefinitely until an employer formally cancels the arrangement. If you have a PSA agreement already in place that doesn’t include non-cash vouchers you will need to contact HMRC to amend the agreement.

You will need to undertake calculations to work out the tax and NIC due under the PSA. This is calculated on a grossed up basis which can be a complex calculation. Before making any agreement you must contact HMRC or your own tax advisor to discuss how this will affect your business specifically.

Rewards for non-employees

Giving vouchers to non-employees, as per the example above – a taxi firm with self- employed drivers – will also see them liable to tax and NIC payments – although if they are claiming Universal Credit, they will not affect how that is calculated.

Similar to the PSA, an employer can enter into what is known as a Taxed Award Scheme (TAS) with HMRC.

Under the TAS you can select to pay tax on behalf of the individuals at either basic rate (20%) or higher rate (40%) tax. The tax will be due on the grossed-up value of the vouchers provided. To set up a TAS contact:

HMRC Incentive Award Unit

National Insurance Contributions & Employer Office Revenue & Customs

BX9 1BX

Telephone number – 0300 200 3200

Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop, explained that he and his team has the necessary know-how to quickly and simply set up an employee rewards scheme.

“The benefits of rewarding employees are clear in terms of increased productivity and retention. But this impact is enhanced by exceptions that enable rewards to be provided to employees with no tax and National Insurance burden for the recipient,” he said.

“Furthermore, Love2shop rewards and the Everyday Benefits Card offer a straightforward route in helping you to help your employees cope with a cost of living crisis that isn’t going away any time soon.

“We have all the expertise to help you set up a reward programme which can integrate seamlessly into your business processes and be delivered for a relatively low cost.

“Our Everyday Benefits Card offers a 7.5% discount to employees on their day to day spending. It can also help with larger one-off purchases. We have calculated the average family can save more than £1,300 a year via the card.

“We can deliver it swiftly to your employees at their workplace or even their home. There has never been a better time to start rewarding those people who are vital to the wellbeing of your business.”

Disclaimer:

This article is published solely for informational purposes. It is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, financial advice. It has no regard to the specific financial situation or needs of any person or business. Before taking any decisions related to business investment or tax, you should seek independent financial advice.

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Is a Cost of Giving crisis looming for your business?

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As Christmas approaches, UK businesses are facing a cost of giving crisis, whether they want to support employees through tough times or reward them for their efforts this year.

The problem: what do people really value when it comes to Christmas gifts – and what is seen as an empty gesture?

Love2shop – has more than 30 years of experience in helping employers get Christmas gifting right through good times and bad – so avoid potential pitfalls this year.

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Employee gifts – give them something they appreciate

Christmas gifting in work is tricky. We may feel we know our employees and work colleagues well but according to the Motley Fool website, Brits on average throw away £32 million of Secret Santa gifts every year – which is a lot of waste!

Getting gifting wrong can also leave a sour taste, sending employees into Christmas feeling undervalued by a gift chosen with little thought.

If you’re considering offering gifts to your employees, ask yourself – do you really know what they want? Or ‘need’ for that matter.

Truth is, there is evidence at Love2shop – that recipients of gift cards are increasingly redeeming their gift cards in shops selling everyday essentials, which includes supermarkets. The ‘treat’ moment is now serving as something else.

If your employees might welcome the chance of doing an extra food shop or buying a household appliance over receiving a selection of wines, wouldn’t it be best to give them a choice?

Offering employees the flexibility to choose what they really want – or need – has a more positive impact.

Such non-cash gifts can also be given tax-free. HMRC’s Trivial Benefits allowance permitting you to give gifts up to the value of £50 for each employee with no additional tax to pay.

The Cost of Living – gifts to ease spending pressure

The cost of living and the cost of giving go hand-in-hand. As an employer you will already have seen employees beginning to struggle this autumn and winter with rising energy costs and general inflation.

To avoid embarrassment, take time to listen to how people feel. Speak to key individuals, even carry out an anonymous survey – see how people are feeling in your business and what support they would like to see.

You may find that they don’t really want the traditional bottle of bubbly or box of fancy chocolates, but something flexible, such as an exclusive festive-themed Love2shop multi-retailer Gift Card, which allows them to choose their own benefit. They can accept the gift without the risk of stigma attached to a ‘handout’ and choose to spend it on essentials like the weekly shop, new winter coats for the kids or little luxuries for the festive season.

To take things one step further, offering employees an Everyday Benefits Card is a cost-effective way to help them spend less on every shopping trip. By pre-loading funds onto the card at a 7.5% discount, they save on purchases across a range of retailers throughout the year. It’s a great way to offer longer-term support to your employees.

The Christmas party – don’t force the fun

Since Covid, the Christmas party has had a mixed return. Some people have been keen to get back to ‘normal’ while others remain more cautious – so what should you do?

Ask your workforce – there’s no point putting deposits down for a venue, food and entertainment if only a handful of people are going to turn up. Can they afford the taxi home, say? So run an internal survey to make sure you’re investing in the right treat for your staff.

If you do choose the Christmas party option, remember – similar to trivial benefits, HMRC allows employers to spend £150 per employee on an annual social event tax-free. Just remember, if you go over the threshold you have to pay tax and National Insurance on the entire spend, not just the difference and this threshold INCLUDES VAT – so don’t get caught out!

Alternatively, you may choose to go for a nice meal together. That way it’s easier to control who your group comes into contact with and to be respectful of those whose culture means they don’t drink alcohol or have specific dietary requirements. Again, this would qualify for the £150 per-head tax allowance.

Whatever you opt for, remember to consider additional expenses such as travel costs and baby-sitting. With everyone trying to balance their household budgets, travel or even hotel stays may be beyond employees’ reach this year so it’s a good idea to avoid additional expenditure for each employee.

You may decide to axe the Christmas party and offer Love2shop Gift Cards or digital e-codes instead. This gives employees the freedom to choose whether to organise a smaller get-together with work friends or offset some of the rising costs of Christmas this year. Love2shop e-Codes can also be scheduled to arrive via email at any time – even on Christmas Day – so it’s never too late to bring some festive cheer.

“Christmas gifting can be a challenge for businesses,” said Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop.

“The right course of action is complex. The ‘cost of giving’ isn’t just about how much it might cost the company in expense but how a company will be judged for its opportunity to show it cares and understands – which has a different sort of cost.

“Love2shop has more than 30 years of experience in gifting and rewarding and we’ve helped businesses get it right through recessions and recoveries. Gifting may seem more complex than ever but we have developed simple solutions so that employers can get gifting right for their workforce.

“Multi-retailer Love2shop Gift Cards and e-Gift Cards offer incredible flexibility. Employees can choose how a gift can be used – whether that remains as a treat, or goes on essential things. Similarly, gifting a pre-loaded Everyday Benefits Card which offers discounts all year-round will provide a longer-term feeling of thoughtfulness when colleagues feel valued, ensuring that your well-intentioned Christmas gift brings a smile to their faces.”

Everyday Benefits Cards and Love2shop are flexecash products. Flexecash is the prepaid card platform that issues flexecash Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. FRN: 900016.

Love2shop Cards are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and as such we may need to complete an electronic identity check.

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Christmas is the ideal time to start rewarding your staff

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With the worst cost of living crisis in many years now in full swing both people and businesses are tightening their belts.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 93% of adults in the UK reported an increase in their cost of living in August and September 2022. This hits low income households harder as they spend a greater proportion of their income, on average, on energy and food.

Inflation, currently above 10%, is close to a 40-year high. And economic research specialist Capital Economics is warning the cost of living crisis is turning into a cost of borrowing crisis.

It said people were increasingly turning to credit to pay for food and bills. This was backed up by data from the Bank of England which showed credit card borrowing rose at its fastest pace for 17 years in August.

Peter Tutton, head of policy, research and public affairs at debt charity StepChange, said people were “vulnerable to panic borrowing to try to fill the gap between their income and their essential spending”.

Businesses are also feeling the squeeze. Rising energy, stock and raw materials prices are creating a dilemma of how much to pass on to the hard-pressed consumer. This was brought into sharp focus by retail analysts Springboard in late October. It showed a decline in high street footfall of 3.3% and 1.5% in retail parks over one week.

Now Christmas is on the horizon and the ‘season of goodwill’ presents its own challenges. Weather is getting colder and heating bills are on the rise and people are wondering how they can afford to buy gifts and extra food.

Businesses are also battling strong headwinds as we head into the festive season. Costs of energy and raw materials have soared in recent months. Add to that a fiercely competitive jobs market which is making staff recruitment and retention all the more difficult.

According to corporate rewards and employee recognition specialist Love2shop, businesses across the UK could do more for their workers. Its Love2shop Employee Value Report 2022 found 33% of all of UK employees feel undervalued at work. And, alarmingly, it reported 74% of people said they would look for a new job if they felt undervalued.

Now you would imagine Christmas would be the perfect time to let your teams know how much their work all year round is valued.

However, rising overheads are putting a squeeze on available cash so offering any kind of bonus or reward to their employees presents a challenge. While their workers face a cost of living crisis, employers face a cost of GIVING crisis.

Another interesting statistic from the Love2shop report is that 76% of employees did feel valued or recognised when their employer spontaneously gave them a gift. And this does present a real opportunity.

Now, an easy route to this could be a trip to the wholesalers to bulk buy some bottles of wine and boxes of chocolates and give them out. However, it seems to lack a little thought and imagination. Like the husband who grabs a cheap bunch of flowers from a service station for his wife for their anniversary.

So how can an employer offer a reward that seems genuinely thoughtful, offers real help to employees struggling to make ends meet, and doesn’t cost the earth.

Love2shop has been helping companies across the UK do just that for more than 50 years. During that time is has partnered up with 150,000 businesses to help them provide rewards and recognition to both staff and customers.

Its Love2shop gifting products are available in both physical and digital form. Accepted by more than 90 big-name retailers across the UK, Love2shop is one of the best established and well recognised gifting brands in the UK.

Love2shop e-Gift card offers multi-choice digital reward codes can be delivered directly to your employee’s inbox. Recipients then exchange the balance for any of the top single-store e-Gift Cards or Love2shop Gift Cards.

Love2shop Contactless is the UK’s first digital gift card. It works with Apple, Samsung and Google phone wallets. Sent and received online, add to mobile wallet and it’s right there on their phone, ready to go. People can even schedule rewards to be delivered on Christmas Day.

Some people prefer something more tangible and the Love2shop Gift Card fit the bill. Cardholders can also exchange their balance online for e-Gift cards to capitalise on online sales.

And with a long tradition, the Love2shop vouchers have been a popular choice as a gift for many years and come with long expiry dates. With the cost of loving now an issue for so many people Love2shop is perfect as it can be spent on everyday essentials or luxuries such as day out experiences or meals.

Alternatively, Love2shop offers the Everyday Benefits Card. This offers all the advantages and flexibility of Love2shop, offering a 7.5% discount when a user loads up their card. So, a card load of £100 costs the recipient just £92.50. They can then use their card to shop with multiple top brands.

And they represent really good value for businesses. They can cost as little as £6 per card if 1,000 cards are purchased.

Frank Creighton, Director of Business Development at Love2shop, said: “We know from our own research, and from years of feedback from clients, the power of a carefully-targeted employee benefits and rewards programme.

“We are witnessing the phenomenon of ‘The Great Resignation’ where people are no longer prepared to remain in workplaces where they feel undervalued, are demotivated and believe no one is seeing or appreciating their efforts.

“We have worked with thousands of employers across multiple sectors, in the public and private sectors, over the years and we have the know-how and experience to make these programmes work for you and your teams.”

By utilising Love2shop Gift Cards, employers can take advantage of HMRC’s Trivial Benefits Allowance. This allows them to gift up to £50 in Love2shop Gift Cards completely tax-free to every employee in their organisation.

This offers a saving to the business of up to £48.10 per employee (for higher rate taxpayers), simply by delivering a non-cash gift. This makes gift cards a far more attractive means to say ‘thank you’ than cash issued through an employee’s salary.

Frank added: “Incentivising and rewarding people is what progressive and forward-thinking businesses do. It helps you hire and retain the right people, increases productivity and ultimately boosts the bottom line.

“Offering rewards also simply makes your workplace a nice place to be for everyone who works there. And it is easier and less costly to set up and run than you may think. What’s not to like.”

Flexecash is the pre-paid card platform which issues the Love2shop Cards. This facility is provided by Park Card Services Ltd who are Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money. (FRN: 900016)

Read our previous blogs…

What is customer acquisition

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