Article
Gift card vendor preps for holidays with two big client signings
Self-Service Networks has nearly doubled placements of its GiftWise mall kiosks from last year.
August 31, 2010
Many of us this week may be thinking of Labor Day, pleased the humidity has finally been chased away, and that things look good for 18 holes and a barbeque.
While some are planning to relax this weekend, there are others beavering away, looking down the road and planning for the peak buying time of year.
Those busy perfecting their chip shot should give kudos to Self-Service Networks for keeping an eye out for the holiday season when harried consumers will be out in force, desperately seeking a convenient present for Uncle Harry or Niece Nancy.
Middletown, R.I.-based Self-Service Networks is a provider of turnkey solutions for kiosk, mobile, the Web and digital signage. It announced two separate deals last week with large mall operators to place its GiftWise kiosks with gift cards in the mall during the holiday season.
That's ‘large mall operators' as in a property firm that runs an impressive number of malls, although the malls they run are pretty large too.
CBL & Associates Properties Inc., owner and manager of 85 regional malls and open-air centers nationwide, agreed to pilot prior to the holiday season a GiftWise launch at Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Tenn., and at Arbor Place Mall in Atlanta. CBL properties are located in 27 states and total 85.4 million square feet of space.
CBL said it would also use the GiftWise kiosks to collect consumer opt-in information and dispense a retailer coupon to participating shoppers.
Self-Service also announced that Westfield Group will launch a GiftWise pilot across multiple properties prior to the holiday season. Westfield claims to be the world's largest listed retail property group by equity market capitalization with a hand in 55 shopping centers nationwide with 63 million square feet of retail space.
Gift cards remain very popular despite the recession. In 2008, Americans spent $25 billion on the cards, according to Creditcards.com. Of those who bought a gift card, 61 percent purchased it as a Christmas/Hanukah gift, according to a survey from BIG Research. Gift cards are the most requested gift item, with nearly 55 percent of adults saying they would like to receive a gift card, BIG reported.
Rick Wessels, Self-Service Networks EVP, said that the GiftWise kiosks will be operating in 27 malls this year, up from 15 last year. "The results from last year led more to take these on. More shopping groups are launching kiosk programs."
There are several reasons for the kiosks fitting in well with malls. They take up little space, are out in the mall but don't displace a store merchant, and can be operating as long as the mall is open. And vending-machine style programs like GiftWise don't need a staffer.
Wessels says the mall operators will be trying different things during the pilot, such as finding the strongest locations and checking for customer response. "These two will experiment with different scenarios, find what works best," he said.
Westfield said in a press release that it likes that the devices are out where the customers are, not back in management offices, where many malls place their retail gift card programs.
GiftWise kiosks are available in outdoor, thru-wall and indoor configurations. Self-Service Networks clients include PepsiCo Inc., Thule Inc. and Universal Studios.
Related Media
Subscribe
Get the latest news and resources from Kiosk Marketplace.
Recent Posts
ZKTeco WFM unveils facial recognition, flexible data collection technology
SML Group sells Clarity software, refocuses on RFID, data solutions
Illinois man sues Home Depot over facial recognition at self-checkout
Instacart partners with Morrisons to bring AI-powered shopping carts to UK
Fiserv expands Clover with acquisitions of CardFree, AIB Merchant Services
