General Articles

Gift Cards are Underrated

Giving a loved one a gift card may feel like the lazy option. It may seem uncreative and effortless. But as a recent survey shows, almost half of the respondents said that they actually prefer gift cards as a present. It is versatile as they can have anything they want in the store. And if they wanted to buy stuff at a store other than what is written in the gift cards they have got, they can always opt to sell gift cards that they were given.

Gift card experiences have not always been fun. Most people has at least one bad experience in receiving a gift card. It is a fact that a lot of people end up not using them due to gift cards having a relatively short usage window before it expires. The christmas season is notorious for this. Because of the number of gifts people often receive during this season, they would sometimes forget they even had it in the first place.

But, in reality, there are far worse gifts that you can give, other than gift cards. The possible drawback from giving someone a gift card is far too shallow than for giving someone the wrong gift. You might not have picked the right color, or the right size. Of course, a gift card cannot emulate a grand gesture as much as a specific gift can give(Well, unless if that gift card was worth a $1 million dollars). But all things considered, giving a gift card is probably the safest bet, and you should not feel bad about giving one.

So where exactly should you buy a gift card? Even with the option to sell gift cards, there is, at the minimum, the requirement to know which store the gift receiver wants to shop. You cannot for instance, gift a Bed, Bath and Beyond coupon to a teenager. Or a fuel gift card to someone who does not own a car.

Choosing the Gift card

There are a few things to factor in when buying a gift card. First is popularity. A big part of any gift card is the branding. A coffee lover would go nuts over seeing the Starbuck siren after opening a thin envelope. Knowing which stores are hip can be worked into your advantage. Even a kid would recognize a Toys R Us logo and will definitely appreciate it.

Second is the discount you are getting. Gift cards, often times, sell gift cards at a discounted rate to enhance sales. They can after all, recoup the expense through unused cards and knowing that the card will used to back at the store. This is a common tactic so you must be totally aware of how much you are actually saving in buying these.

You must pay attention to the possibility that your receiver may decide to sell the gift card you gave him/her. If this does happen, have a general sense on how much the card can sell for. There are

General Articles

Top Packaging Industry Trends to Watch Out for in 2019

Over the years, the packaging industry has managed to make itself one of the most enormous economic generators. And data from the Smithers Pica organization indicate that the marketing value of the packaging industry should hit $1 trillion by 2020. Considering that in 2015, the value was at $839 billion. Thanks to the current consumer and industry packaging trends, the market value keeps soaring. Packaging designs like custom stand up pouches are becoming more popular each day. Therefore, to understand and appreciate this phenomenon and know where it is heading, it’s necessary to examine how the top packaging industry trends evolve this year.

Every industry has to sort out how to package its products to protect and enclose them either for storage, shipping, or sale. And that makes it the all-encompassing industry term that must also take in the marketing efforts of the product manufacturers. For the leading product manufacturers, the packaging of their products also signifies their brands. And so, you can only imagine how much effort your business has to put in the product packaging process. Packaging is an essential part of all business models. Almost as crucial as producing an excellent product.

So, what as the top packaging trends to watch out for this 2019? Keep reading to find out

  1. Personalized packaging

As a business that deals in product sales, you also want to have your packaging as personalized as possible. However, you don’t want to make the personalization too much. This is the one trend that has gradually built up over the years. Plus, it is also one packaging trend that is sure to have a major industry impact this year as well. Your business is sure to witness the significant effects on returns should you explore and use personalized packaging for your products. Think of it as an innovative marketing investment project.

Take the big companies like Coca-Cola which has even printed people’s names on their product containers. Or Bud Light which prints football teams on their cans. What all these means is that there isn’t any one-size-fits-all when it comes to personalized packaging.

  1. Digital printing

Thanks to the tremendous technological advancements, the packaging industry has also settled into the digital world. To mean that computer generation is now the principal mechanism. One that packaging businesses use to design physical product packaging. Also, digital printing enables packaging businesses to create images or graphics that govern their packaging appearances. Fair to say that digital printing, to some extent, influences just about every part of packaging today, and doesn’t show any signs of stopping.

  1. Bold colors and effects

Here is another packaging trend that keeps expanding in this industry. That makes it another one of the definite trends this 2019 as well. Most of the big businesses have realized how well the use of strong colors and dynamic effects tend to stand out in their packaging. Not to mention how well using this packaging trend had also resulted in increased sales volume in recent years.

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