Strömstad Shopping Center helps customers find the perfect gift
There are many ways a company can reach their customers, and with an increasing number of companies in the market, it has become more important than ever to reach the right customers with the right message. Through their creative solutions, Strömstad Shoppingcenter has helped many customers find the perfect gift for those they care about. Center manager Mia Danielsson says that they are seeing good results from the marketing of their gift cards from the Microlog gift card machines.
An important self-help tool.
In addition to being the center manager, Danielsson is also responsible for the marketing of the center. When they decided to start selling gift cards, Danielsson did her own research and looked at several alternatives and suppliers. She eventually got in touch with Microlog.
«We have both physical gift cards that can be bought through the gift card machines, and gift cards that can be bought online through our webshop. It was important for us to have both alternatives!»
— Mia Danielsson
Danielsson is also the one who has been working on the creative marketing, and she thinks it is important to help customers solve their problems in the simplest way possible.
«I find working with marketing very exciting, and it’s important to dare to think outside the box. I see the gift card machines as a self-help tool, and it is therefore important to help our customers,» Danielsson explains.
More than just a vending machine in the corner.
This way of thinking has resulted in a custom designed wall behind the gift card machine, with quotes such as “what do you play with as a teenager?” and “what do you give to someone who already has everything?”, to illustrate the value of a gift card. Furthermore, the center has focused on a complete theme, through for example among complementing stickers on the floor, showing the way to the vending machine.
«We did not want to just have a vending machine in the corner, but we wanted to have a proper place for it. We therefore also have lighting on the wall, so that it can easily be seen when you enter the center,» Danielsson says.
Additionally, they have made a video where Danielsson talks about the gift card machine and the possibilities when buying a gift card. This video was posted along with a QR-code, so that customers watching the video and other ads can easily go to the website and webshop.
«It should be easy for our customers to buy these gift cards, because we want to make it easy for them to solve their problems.»
Addressing a large target audience
All the shops at the center have a display for gift cards, and the center also offers personal greetings to go along with the gift cards. Danielsson says that they have seen good results from these combined efforts, especially during the pandemic.
«What has been particularly interesting about these gift cards is that we are a very diverse shopping center, with many different types of stores, which gives us a large and varied target audience. We therefore want to make it clear that you can buy these gift cards for both grandchildren and grandmother,» Danielsson says.
The journey to 100 webshops in several countries
Several years of pandemic have opened the eyes of many companies to the importance of a high-quality, well-functioning online presence. The developments within e-commerce has increased considerably in recent years, and so has the demand for products from Microlog. Chief Product Owner with Microlog, Eva Åberg, says it is an exciting and educational journey Microlog has been through the last few years.
“We have now launched over 100 webshops, in Sweden, Norway, Finland, England and Ireland, and we see an increase in the profits of the centers that have chosen to add a webshop to their business,” says Eva Åberg, responsible for everything related to gift cards at Microlog.
Furthermore, Åberg says that customers who have used Microlog to set up their webshops increase their profits by somewhere between 15 and 20 percent on average. Although it is important that the customers themselves focus on consistent and creative marketing of their webshops, it is also important that the webshop itself is as good as possible.
“These webshops are available around the clock, customers can order gift cards at a time convenient to them, and then later on decide for themselves when the recipient will receive it. Furthermore, the webshop is fully integrated with the center’s own website,” says Åberg.
Quality solutions for a seamless customer experience through an intuitive setup makes it easy for the customer to use the webshop, while the shopping center will have the opportunity to adapt it to its own design and brand. This aspect of online shopping has been important for companies during the pandemic, but Åberg points out that many companies have also been smart in thinking ahead.
“We see that there are many centers that have been attentive during the pandemic. The fact that the pandemic is now more or less over gives the centers new opportunities to market and drive traffic. Many have moved or supplemented their offer by adding webshops from Microlog, to give their customers better shopping opportunities. That is still just as important,” says Åberg.
Despite enormous growth and great success in a number of countries in recent years, Åberg says that Microlog has a constant focus on developing. It is important for them to meet their customers where they are, which is why they are continuously working to develop the product.
“We are constantly working to develop the webshop with new functionality and new ways in which our customers can benefit from it. Microlog never stands still, and our product is under constant development,” Åberg adds.
Like most companies that do well in a competitive market, Åberg does not want to reveal everything they have planned for the time being, but the fact that a new add-on function is available, so customers can buy gift cards for several recipients at the same time, is a significant possibility that has been requested for a longer period of time. She does however reveal that there will already be more improvements this autumn, which will give their customers new opportunities.
“We listen a lot to our customers, who after all are the ones who use the webshop, to find out what comments they have and how we can improve,” says Åberg.
If you would like to hear more about our webshop or have any questions, you are more than welcome to contact us.
Using a gift card in safe environments
Do you need help finding the perfect gift for someone who “already has everything” for Christmas? Or for their birthday, for that matter? Or are you in need of a good gift idea, no matter the occasion? If so, a gift card might be the perfect solution. Oslo City has installed two Gift Card Kiosks from Microlog, where you can buy gifts card that can be used on all shopping centers owned by Steen & Strøm.
EASY TO FIND
– The automats can be found by the main entrance to the shopping center, next to Jernbanetorget, and are easy to find, says Center Manager Laila Sønstevold.
– The gift cards bought here are general gift cards, which can be used both here and at our other Steen og Strøm-owned shopping centers in the country, like Metro in Lørenskog, Gulskogen in Drammen or Maxi at Hamar.
The Gift Card Kiosks are both practical and easy to use. You type out the amount you want to give away and pay with card. You can also buy the gift card at Oslo City’s website. The link will take you to Microlog’s website, which gives you a code you can use when retrieving the gift card at the gift card automat.
– We used to have a customer information desk, where you could buy gift cards, while we also had Gift Card Kiosks. The benefits with this setup were the personal service, where you talked to a person on the other side of the counter. On the other side, the customer information desk did not have as long opening hours as Oslo City. The customer information desk was closed in 2019, and the space was given new tenants.
– How do customers find the Gift Card Kiosks?
– Most of them know where the main entrance for the shopping center is, and we have signs for gifts cards on the wall behind the two Gift Card Kiosks, informing customers about the different situations where gift cads can be used. We also have information on our website, under “Gift cards – the gift for everyone”. Additionally, information about the Gift Card Kiosks is also found on our digital screens around the shopping center, and every now and then we have commercials on posters by the display windows. We also send out information about gift cards in our newsletters and make customers aware of the opportunity on both Instagram and Facebook.
EASY, PRACTICAL AND FLEXIBLE
– What upsides and downsides do you see with the Gift Card Kiosks?
– Gift Card Kiosks make shopping for gift cards easier and more available. You can shop whenever you want to and retrieve the gift card multiple places. It makes everything more flexible. It is a great gift idea if you are unsure of what to gift someone. The downside is naturally that the personal touch is gone. Steen & Strøm has a service agreement with Microlog, which entails that all our customers can get help with their questions, purchase in Gift Card Kiosks or online.
IDEAL LOCATION FOR MEETING PEOPLE
Because of the pandemic and its aftermath, it is not possible to give any representative number on the turnover for gift cards this year, Laila continues.
– But we can look at it from a more general perspective. Many thought that online shopping would take over for good after the pandemic, as we saw a substantial growth in this area while the country was on lockdown. However, our numbers does not show that. It is incredibly uplifting and gives a clear signal about how it is possible to bounce back. Another reason that might be just as important is how a shopping center is more than somewhere to go shopping, it is also a meeting place. People are longing to meet again, be together and physically see each other. We have a need to be close to each other again and share experiences. Therefore we think that our shopping center, which is very central, will continue to be an important meeting place in the future as well.
Our statistics from October shows that we had a great month. The number of visitors was far above the 2020 numbers, something that makes sense considering the lockdown. It also shows that we were just below the 2019 numbers, while the turnover was above, and that is after all what both we want the tenants live off.
THE POWER OF THE MEDIA
The influence by the media is powerful. If the big media outlets are writing that the infection rates are going up, you will see less people out shopping. Laila elaborates:
– What the media writes has a direct consequence for us. And we see a noticeable domino effect. Increased infection rates mean less use of trains and other forms of public transportation, and the further away from Oslo Central Station you live, the fewer people are coming to the shopping centers. I am very understanding of the fact that people are anxious. But we have learned a lot from these times. Oslo City was quick to implement additional resources for cleaning and made new routines that we are still following. The focus on good hygiene is something we have brought with us, we have additional cleaning of all surfaces, buttons and so on, in addition to the hand sanitizer that is strategically located all over the shopping center. The benefit with Oslo City’s new Gift Card Kiosks is that customers who want to retrieve gift card bought online do not have to touch the buttons by the Gift Card Kiosks. It works just as well to scan the QR-code located on the gift card. We want customers to be safe when visiting us, an optimistic Center Manager concludes.