What's new in gift cards? Sears is making them more personal. Many consumers find gift cards to be less personal than a traditional gift, but Sears is searching for ways to make electronic gift cards more "giftable." Using the physical card’s graphics as a tool to speak to the shopper on a personal level is one approach the company is using that is meeting with success.

After researching customer views, Sears created a gift card with the high-profile Craftsman tool logo on full display. The logo makes it more personalized by focusing on a certain segment of Sears merchandise.

The Craftsman logo cards are valid for any Sears purchase, not just tools, serving at the same time to reinforce the Craftsman brand for consumers who are likely to buy tools.

The company recently launched a Customized Gift Card program at Searsphotos.com. Customers can choose a specific image of the card, add a photo to the background, and actually add text to the front of the card with messages to the recipient. The final product is a gift that’s unique, personalized, flexible and convenient.

More on gift cards

There's a new program targeting small retailers. Gift product and service provider, Gift Check Solutions (GCS), based in Salt Lake City, unveiled Gift Card In A Box, a customized gift card program designed for use by small and medium sized restaurateurs and retailers. The Gift Card In A Box package, which sells for $2,700 includes 2,000 electronic gift cards produced in one of six designs, gift sleeves for the cards, matching point of sale (POS) materials, a dedicated POS gift card reader with printer, a detailed operating instruction manual, and 24 hour toll free telephone support.

Retailers can monitor the effectiveness of their own gift card programs online through GCS’ reporting system. An in store gift card terminal allows the customer to reload the card on location or inquire about the gift card’s current balance. Customers can place any amount between $1 and $500 on the gift cards; following a purchase, any remaining card balance is kept on the card.

For more information about the program, call (866) GIFT-CRD or www.giftcardinabox.com.

Talk

Stephanie Tourles in her book 50 Ways to Pamper Yourself offers these words of wisdom: Practice self affirmations every day to keep your perspective positive and uplifting.

Here are some examples:

• "I now trust myself completely."

• "I am a smart and talented go-getter."

• "I am calm and relaxed no matter what the circumstances."

• "I am at peace."

• "I will not worry, no matter what comes my way today."

• "I can do anything I set my mind to."

Published: April 15, 2002

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Kathy Lamancusa is a trend strategis, professional speaker and author who tracks the forces that impact our lives. Over 1.6 million copies of Kathy's books are in print, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah! She is a public speaker who can offer organizations entertaining and enlightening peeks into what is coming and what is shaping change so that they can better reach their own customer bases.