Connect Fall 2016 | Page 13

By 2017, e-gifting is expected to hit $14 billion— comprising roughly 10% of the gift card market. A NEW LOOK AT GIFT CARDS Through its partnership with CVS®, CardCash.com is pioneering a program where major retailers agree to accept competitor’s gift cards. Going through CardCash.com, a consumer can, for example, enter CVS® with a gift card from Walgreens®, Applebee’s®, or another retailer, and trade it in for a CVS® gift card. Until this shift is complete, retailers still remain pleased with consumers’ use of CardCash.com, since it increases the likelihood that gift cards will be used—and money spent. In the current system, retailers consider gift cards to be a deficit on their books until that amount is spent in-store. When gift cards go unused, that “deficit” remains. Thanks to CardCash.com, however, consumers are able to get gift cards they want—and will use—for less than face value, while the total amount is still spent in the store. “It’s a win-win situation,” Bohm says. “Everyone walks away happy.” CONNECT TECHNOLOGY FALL 2016 // SNB.COM | 13