New functionality enables retailers to offer additional gift cards right on their own website

With looming year-end shipping delays and out-of-stocks, consumers are once again looking to gift cards, which are primed for another big holiday season. To offer shoppers more flexible, personalized gifting options and help retailers drive additional gift card revenue, global branded payments provider Blackhawk Network has launched a new content expansion and multi-brand bundles functionality on its CashStar platform. Retailers can now offer their customers bundles of two complementary cards, or add-on gift cards at purchase right on their own website so shoppers can build personalized, experiential gift card bundles to gift or use themselves.

The new functionality allows retailers to choose which brands they would like to partner with from Blackhawk’s vast network of hundreds of brand partners and original content gift cards, while also giving retailers the flexibility to expand their offerings however they want. Feature options include:

• Gift card content expansion: Shoppers can buy two cards from a retailer’s own site by selecting “add another card” during their existing gift card purchase and choosing an additional single brand or Blackhawk Originals™ card.
• Bundling: Shoppers can buy an existing bundle of cards for a personalized, experiential gift. For example, a fun “date night” bundle might include a restaurant gift card combined with an entertainment gift card, or a “treat yourself” bundle could include a beauty gift card and a gift card from a quick service restaurant.
• Bundling with Blackhawk Originals™: Shoppers can buy a bundle of the retailer’s own brand and Blackhawk’s multi-brand cards. The shopper selects “add another card” and chooses the multi-brand card they would like to add, or the retailer creates an experiential bundle pairing its brand with a complementary multi-brand card for a personalized gifting solution.

With any of the three available options, following the purchase, the recipient will receive an email with a link to view and activate the selected eGifts.

“Our holiday forecast¹ found that multi-brand gift cards will be one of the most popular gift card categories this holiday season,” said Jennifer Philo, GVP, US digital commerce and loyalty, Blackhawk Network. “This new bundle option has allowed us to offer yet another flexible option for a personalized multi-brand experience for consumers, while also providing retailers the opportunity to gain some additional revenue and exposure to a new customer base that they may not have been reaching.”

The new functionality is available to existing Blackhawk Network partners who can work with their account manager to quickly get these bundle and content expansion options set up. To learn more about Blackhawk’s capabilities, visit www.blackhawknetwork.com.

About Blackhawk Network

Blackhawk Network delivers branded payment solutions through the prepaid products, technologies and network that connect brands and people. We collaborate with our partners to innovate, translating market trends in branded payments to increase reach, loyalty and revenue. We reliably execute security-minded solutions worldwide. Join us as we shape the future of global branded payments. Learn more at blackhawknetwork.com.

¹ “5 Ways to Prepare for Holiday 2021” is based on findings of an internet-based survey conducted by Leger on behalf of Blackhawk Network in August 2021. The sample size included 2,000 respondents 18+ that purchased gifts in the past 12 months and plan to shop during holiday 2021.

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