5 ways South African shopping malls can benefit from gift card programmes

Shopping malls are always on the lookout for innovative strategies to attract and retain customers while boosting daily footfall. One such strategy that has proven effective globally, is the implementation of gift card programmes. For shopping malls in South Africa, digital gift cards offer a host of benefits that can drive foot traffic, boost sales, enhance customer loyalty and streamline operations.

Entering a digital era

It is now more critical than ever for shopping centres to embrace technology to stay competitive and improve customer experiences. The shift towards digital gift cards not only aligns with modern consumer preferences but also opens up new opportunities that traditional, plastic gift cards could not. Unlike plastic cards, which contribute to waste and environmental concerns, digital gift cards offer a sustainable and convenient alternative. Moreover, digital gift cards go beyond simply replacing their physical counterparts, they represent a new medium that enables shopping centres to connect with customers in innovative ways, such as through mobile notifications with a broader geographic reach.

Buying gift cards, the traditional way involves a lengthy and effort-heavy process. The end user must physically go to the mall, find the specific counter where gift cards are sold and make the purchase. Then, the gifter has to meet the recipient in-person to hand over the card. This requires time, effort and synchronised physical movement, steps that can all be eliminated by going digital. With digital gift cards, the entire process can happen from the comfort of one's home, in a few clicks. For malls, this eliminates operational hassles and makes gifting more attractive to time-strapped customers.

Even though many malls have recognised the need for digitisation, they may lack the resources to build an app themselves. Paymentology solves this by offering a customisable, white-labelled app, and for those who already have their own app, we provide software development kits (SDKs) to easily integrate gift card functionalities. This flexibility ensures that any shopping mall can foster stronger engagement and customer retention. Whether through a bespoke loyalty app or our ready-made, white-labelled solution, the options are wide open, empowering shopping centres to choose what works best for them.

At Paymentology, we’ve seen first-hand how digital gift cards can revolutionise the payment experience at shopping malls. Here are the top benefits we’ve identified that can truly transform your mall’s operations:

Enhanced customer experience

Paymentology’s end-to-end gift card solution powers open-loop card programmes, allowing shopping centres to offer a seamless shopping experience with flexible payment options. These gift cards operate on standard card rails, making them accepted wherever Mastercard or Visa is used. This means no custom integrated POS terminals are required, simplifying operations and delivering a great experience for both merchants and customers.

Additionally, digital gift cards align perfectly with today’s customer preference for digital payment experiences. Consumers expect convenience and flexibility, with our digital gift cards, they become empowered to shop and pay using their preferred method, whether it’s through their smartphone or wearables.

Boosted sales

Digital wallet usage in South Africa has surged, with a 30% increase in the past year alone. Paymentology’s digital gift card solutions are equipped with support for all the major OEM wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Wallet and Samsung Pay, giving shoppers instant access to their funds and eliminating the friction of traditional gift cards. Moreover, digital gift cards drive additional sales, as customers often spend more than the value of the card itself, benefiting both individual stores and the shopping centre.

And here’s where the digital difference really shines, with Paymentology powered digital gift cards, shopping centres can actively nudge cardholders toward their stores. For example, our notification feature can alert customers when they are near the mall, reminding them they have a gift card to use. This subtle prompt can redirect traffic away from competitors and back to your shopping centre, increasing footfall and boosting sales.

Improved cash flow and reach

With Paymentology, digital gift cards are instantly available, cost-effective, and easy to purchase from anywhere. This removes physical barriers, for example by allowing someone in Cape Town to send a gift card for Sandton City to a family member based in Johannesburg. By breaking down geographical limitations, malls can attract customers from a much wider area, creating new streams of revenue.

Another key advantage of digital gift cards is their immediacy. Once purchased, they are ready for use instantly, encouraging customers to shop sooner rather than later. This increased ease of use fosters more frequent transactions, driving quicker sales for the mall.

Flexible marketing tool

In the digital age, malls need more than just a physical card to engage their customers. Paymentology offers a white-labelled app that malls can fully customise with logos, brand colours and card designs. This provides a rapid solution to launch digital gift cards in just weeks, with no need for complex integrations or extensive developer work.

Reduced fraud risk

Digital gift cards offer a more secure alternative to cash and physical cards, significantly reducing the risk of theft and fraud. Since the card is delivered and stored on the recipient’s mobile device, there’s less risk of loss or unintended user spending compared to physical cards. Moreover, since shoppers are less likely to forget their phones, digital gift cards are more likely to be redeemed.

A step beyond digitisation

It’s important to note that Paymentology’s digital gift card solution isn’t just about digitising what was previously done with plastic cards. Our goal is to use the digital medium to unlock new possibilities that simply weren’t available before. The ability to nudge users through location-based notifications, enabling shoppers to buy and gift cards from anywhere in the country and creating a hassle-free digital experience that aligns with modern consumer behaviour are just a few examples of how our product is driving traffic and engagement in ways physical cards could not.

Interested in learning more about card programmes? Read our article on “How Does Card Programme Management Work?” and connect with our sales team to discover how Paymentology can help transform your gift card strategy and secure a competitive edge in the bustling South African gifting market.

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About Paymentology

Paymentology is a next-generation global issuer-processor. We give banks, fintechs and telcos the technology, team and experience to easily issue and process any type of physical or virtual card; debit, prepaid, credit, BNPL, revolving and more. Anywhere in the world, rapidly and at scale. 

Our superior multi-cloud platform offering both shared and dedicated processing instances, vast global presence and richer real-time data set us apart as the leader in payments. Our payments experts bring deep, local market knowledge on the ground in 60 countries, across 14 time zones, guaranteeing 24/7 support. We are deeply committed to increasing financial inclusion worldwide and to positively impacting the communities in which we operate.