Holiday Gift Cards: A Quick Check Before the Rush
A few quick checks to make sure your gift cards are easy to buy, simple to redeem, and ready for the season.
Restaurant gift card sales don’t wait for Black Friday. In 2024, Paytronix saw them surge as much as two weeks before Thanksgiving weekend, and customers spent 10% more on gift cards over that weekend than the year before.
Those sales also pay off well after the holidays. Every card sold is a future visit, and sometimes the first visit from a new customer.
Early November is the ideal time to make sure your setup is ready. Here’s what to check before the rush.
Decide Which Gift Card Options You’ll Offer
Many point-of-sale systems can sell physical gift cards, digital gift cards, or both. Digital gift cards may be purchased online and delivered by email, sometimes on a date the buyer chooses. Whether that option is available depends on your POS system and how it’s set up, so check with your provider or POS support team before advertising it.
If you sell digital cards, look at the customer’s experience from start to finish. Make sure your website or ordering page is easy to find, the purchase steps are clear, and buyers know how the recipient can redeem the card.
Test a Sale and Redemption
Don’t wait until a customer is standing at the counter to find out something isn’t working. Test the process before the rush:
Sell a gift card and confirm the amount loads correctly.
Check that the receipt or digital confirmation has the right information.
Test redeeming the card at the point of sale.
If you sell online, confirm that the card can be redeemed through the channels you advertise.
Make sure your team knows what to do if a customer has trouble with a card.
If you offer both physical and digital gift cards, test each one separately. The steps and redemption options may differ.
Give Your Team a Quick Refresher
Gift cards are simple for customers, but staff should know how they work in your system. Review how to sell one, check its balance, redeem it, and handle a partial payment when the card doesn’t cover the full purchase. It also helps to decide who should be contacted if a card doesn’t work as expected.
Know Where to Find Your Gift Card Information
Your POS may offer reports showing gift card sales, redemptions, or outstanding balances. Take a look before the season gets busy so you know where to find the information and can keep an eye on activity.
Gift card reporting can also help you understand how customers are using the cards. Paytronix found that gift card redemptions over the 2025 Thanksgiving weekend were up 8.1% from the year before. Someone who visits to redeem a gift may come back again, especially if they have a good experience.
Make the Details Easy to Understand
If you promote gift cards on your website, social media, or in-store, explain where customers can buy them and how they can be used. Be clear about whether digital gift cards are available, where they can be redeemed, and whom to contact with questions.
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A quick check now can help prevent confusion later and make gift cards easier for your customers and staff. If you’re not sure which gift card features your POS system supports, check before the holiday rush begins.
For the rest of your holiday prep, see our checklist: Is Your POS Ready for the Holiday Rush?
Already an HCS Customer?
Call us before the rush for help setting up gift cards, checking your gift card reports, or giving your team a quick refresher.
Not an HCS Customer Yet?
If gift cards are a hassle with your current POS, we can help you find a system that makes them easy to sell, redeem, and track, with real support behind it.