Gift card email examples

Driving urgency, like Rhone does in this holiday-themed gift card email, there’s an opportunity for brands to play on last-minute gifting messaging the day before or a few days before a given holiday. This isn’t just applicable to Christmas (we’re thinking Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Easter, too!). This type of email expresses some urgency, too.

If a brand wants to double down on gift card sales, make the gift card the focus of the email instead of featuring in the bottom footer or secondary email section. This example from Soko doesn’t include different product recommendations or additional designs making it extremely gift card-centric.

A BOGO is a great way to generate gift card sales quickly. For example, The Tie Bar used email to advertise their gift card BOGO: a $10 gift card included in a purchase of a $50 gift card. This also brings the shopper back to spend the $10 gift card (with a total cart value likely greater than the $10 gift card).

Gift cards are a perfect gift for those who have no idea what other gifts to buy. This is a great opportunity to feature copy within the email highlighting gift card versatility. For example, Outerknown featured language around sizing and showcased the gift card as a great option that’s also available for purchase 24/7.

For brands that do have brick-and-mortar locations, feature the store closest to the customer as an alternative to a gift card. This can be done through several personalization tools like Movable Ink or Zembula. Foot Locker uses this within their gift card email to drive last-minute in-store purchases.

Payment options such as Afterpay are gaining popularity with online shoppers. Elf Cosmetics includes a large banner about Afterpay after their initial gift card CTA. Installment plans are extremely beneficial for brands with more expensive products, too for shoppers looking to distribute payments over a few months.

This can be a great email to include post-holidays to promote gift card use. Starbucks promotes their gift cards by tying gift card usage to rewards points (every gift card dollar is equivalent to 2 Starbucks Rewards stars). For brands where there are no rewards or benefits for gift card redemption, showcase products customers can buy with gift cards they received over the holidays.

If sending a gift card related send around the holidays, stress urgency in the subject line to drive last-minute purchases. Champs uses the subject line ‘⏰ Send an Email Gift Card Before Time Runs Out!’ to drive urgency in their gift card-related send.

Recess, a calming beverage, used a simple plain text-looking email to promote their new gift card offering. This is a simple, yet effective way to get a customer’s attention as many email marketing sends include design elements and distractions from the core message.