Popular and Profitable Gift Vouchers for Mother’s Day
With nearly every UK family looking to treat the lady of the house to something special on Mother’s Day, the event has a huge amount of sales potential. How do you make the most of it?
The short answer: by offering something you won’t find in the shops. An experience to remember.
Unlike heavily commodified American imports like Father’s Day and Black Friday, the origins of Mothering Sunday lie in experiences and shared time. It began as a public holiday in the middle ages, when families returned to their ‘mother church’ - the church where they had been baptised - for a service. The religious practice of ‘going a-mothering’ soon became an important family reunion. For children working in service it was one of the only occasions when they saw their parents.
Nowadays, we get more time out from the rat-race - however it might feel - but our downtime is still precious. And we’re getting increasingly creative with it.
A recent study by Visit England highlighted the growth of experiential travel in the UK. Experiential travel is all about having an authentic and immersive experience. Getting under the skin of a place. In their downtime, people are looking to drop the ‘tourist’ label and experience destinations like a local. (Visit England Sources: Experience Research, 2019).
This is where your gift voucher shop comes in. The gift market is diverse and competitive as ever, but this is driven by the experiential economy. In other words, people are on the lookout for the experiences you sell. We’ve gathered a list of popular and profitable gift vouchers to help you make the most of your voucher sales this March.
Afternoon Tea
This quintessentially English tradition allows guests to experience an afternoon of leisurely indulgence. A decadent afternoon tea has the same appeal as a period drama; it transports guests to another time- one where they’re treated like royalty. Afternoon tea is popular because it offers a sense of occasion and escapism from everyday life for relatively little time and money. No surprise, then, that Classic Afternoon Tea was the best-selling voucher across all of our clients in 2019.
We recommend you put Afternoon Tea on the menu in your gift shop - but don’t stop there. Give your guests a reason to return with variations, from a Gin Tea to a Savoury Tea or those themed around locality, era, or even literary references such as an Alice in Wonderland Tea.
Spa Treatments and Pampering Vouchers
Offer Mums a well deserved treat with some respite from the responsibilities of parenthood. A spa treatment is a wonderful way to reset and recharge. Similarly, a spa day is the ultimate indulgence, allowing her to unwind and wash away the effects of accumulated stress.
Tasty Gifts for Foodies
Upgrade one-off treats like a box of chocolates or bottle of wine to a memorable tasting experience. Food and drink related experiences are the most popular travel experiences in England. Distillery/brewery/vineyard tours top the list, but cookery classes, chocolate-making, foraging and cheese-making are also popular. The key is to tailor your vouchers to your customers and make the most of your assets. This could be as detailed as a guided foraging walk to harvest wild garlic or elderflower in your area with a cookery class to follow, or as simple as offering a Cocktail and Cake voucher.
A Short Break
Your hotel is their setting to make distinctive memories and share experiences. A relaxing stay is the perfect way for grateful children or partners to treat Mum. Mums with young children will relish an undisturbed night’s rest in peaceful surroundings, whilst families with grown children can regroup for a stay to catch up and reconnect.
The Wild Card
Environmentalism is growing, and rightly so, as people wake up to the fragility of our natural world. In a huge poll of travel trends in August 2018, Booking.com found that 86 per cent of global travellers were willing to spend time on activities that offset the environmental impact of their stay, and over a third (37%) would clear plastic and litter from a beach or other tourist attraction.
Many hospitality businesses are lucky to be located in beautiful locations, be that among fields, by rivers or sea, or even within National Parks. Chances are, if you have a green space near you, your marketing will shout about it. It’s in everyone’s interest to protect it, including your guests'. Springtime seems to be the season for it. Keep Britain Tidy are running the Great British Spring Clean (20 March - 13 April), following a record year in 2019 where over 560,000 people took part. This is followed by Surfers Against Sewage’s Big Spring Beach Clean: from Summit to Sea on 18th - 26th April. Why not organise or support an existing campaign, or get behind the growing ecological movement with a wildflower or tree planting day if you have land?
Ones to Watch
Wellness experiences were highlighted as niche by Visit England’s 2019 study, but with the growth of the global wellness trend we expect their popularity to rise. Pilates, breathwork, or forest bathing are all extremely easy to host (the latter provided you have access to a beautiful green space- imagination isn’t everything), you simply need someone to lead the activity. Reach out to freelancers in your area, working together may benefit you both.
We hope our popular and profitable gift voucher ideas offer insightful inspiration for your hospitality! At Gift Voucher Brilliance, we do all we can to work with you to boost your gift voucher sales. Get in touch and see how we can help you drive extra revenue year-round.