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HID Global Delivers First Gift Card Issuance Project to Major Retailers in Korea
March 2011 by Emmanuelle Lamandé
HID Global announced that it has introduced a pilot digital gift card issuance project at two Korean retail giants, Home plus and Shinsegae E-mart, utilizing HID’s FARGO® HDP5000 high-definition printer/encoders.
With the HDP5000, the two retailers can now brand and customize gift cards for corporate customers and individuals, adding a level of personalization not available with conventional paper gift vouchers. The digital issuance of cards enables individuals and companies to create custom card designs using their own images, logos, personalized messages and other branding on the card.
Facing Korea’s notoriously saturated consumer goods market and fierce competition, HID’s personalized gift card issuance solution has emerged as a significant revenue growth vehicle for the two retailers, opening up a new pre-paid gift card market in addition to credit cards and cash as conventional modes of payment. The retailers’ digital gift cards also had the capability of unlimited recharging and offered special discounts at franchise stores that prompted repeat purchases.
As of today, 250 FARGO HDP5000 card printers are deployed at Home plus and Shinsegae E-mart stores, and the digital gift card issuance pilot resulted in record-breaking sales, with triple digit growth over last year for Home plus during the 2010 Korean Thanksgiving season.
Home plus and Shinsegae E-mart are currently the country’s top two retailers, followed by Lotte Shopping and Walmart, operating a combined 241 hypermarkets and 262 express stores nationwide.
