SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Valentine’s Day 2011 may turn out to be the official kick off of virtual and mobile gift cards -- in the U.S. Transaction Wireless™ (TW), the leading provider of eGiftcards -- a category which includes mobile, email, secure URL, social media and extensions to traditional gift cards -- reported record sales of its customers’ digital gifts during the weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day. The technology company counts Applebee’s, American Eagle Outfitters, AMC Theaters, Blockbuster, and SpaFinder among its clients.
Valentine’s Day reemerged as a “show off” holiday this year with increased consumer spending after two years of decline, according to the U.S. National Retail Federation (NRF). The NRF survey conducted by BIGresearch indicated the average U.S. consumer planned to spend around $116 on Valentine's Day gifts, meals and entertainment this year.
“For Valentine’s Day, we saw the largest increase in virtual and mobile gift card sales to date for just about all of our clients – some going up 300-500 percent,” said Doug Schneider, CEO, Transaction Wireless. “Possibly the most encouraging piece is that the lift isn’t tied to any major marketing spend. People are starting to discover the value and ease of digital gift cards on their own.”
Gift givers can express themselves by customizing mobile gift cards with personal messages, video and pictures and can time the arrival of the card for just the right moment. The cards are safely stored on the mobile device, helping to ensure gifts will be used rather than lost or forgotten. Gift cards can be redeemed online or in retail outlets.
TW’s digital gifting platform enables the simple, safe purchase of gift cards directly from any mobile or digital device and it also allows social gifting on retailers’ Facebook Pages, creating a viral effect that gift cards were lacking until now.
About Transaction Wireless
Since 2006, Transaction Wireless (TW) has been the leader in bringing digital life to traditional stored value products with B2C & B2B gift card programs, loyalty incentives, and integrated marketing solutions for retailers, their partners, and consumers. The TW Multi-Channel Gifting and Marketing Platform expands the limitations of conventional plastic and online gift card programs and offers easy to engage turn-key solutions and web service APIs. TW enables retailers to connect with the rapidly evolving digital lives of their customers where ever they are, and through any medium including mobile, Facebook, tablet, website, email, and even traditional plastic. The company’s retail clients include: AMC Entertainment, American Eagle Outfitters, Applebee’s, SpaFinder, Bass Pro Shops and Blockbuster. More information can be found at www.transactionwireless.com.