Online retailers and gift cards
The growth of online retail is indisputable, and is a threat to traditional bricks-and-mortar stores. Indeed, many top global retailers such as Amazon, eBay and Rakuten, have never had bricks-and-mortar stores, and bring buyers and sellers together online. Gift cards for these retailers are becoming more and more popular, and are playing a crucial role in increasing the number of customers and increasing revenues. However, while many online-only retailers have launched their own gift card programs, others have not.
The Ogloba solution
The Ogloba platform issues the gift cards of the online marketplace retailer without them having to create a new in-house system, or subcontract several different providers to manage a specific market segment. Ogloba has already developed, in-house, a suite of innovative software solutions that support prepaid transactions for customers in over 60 countries. The most significant development has been in the provision of gateway services to connect online merchants to Tier 1 content and distribution partners; there is no middleman because the platform connects directly to existing POS cash registers.
Our Back Office platform is designed to allow online marketplaces and content providers to focus on marketing and selling. We take care of all the technological aspects of the business, and clear all the transactions and financial flows daily. The platform provides real time reporting via a friendly web service interface, and over 50 types of report can be created on-demand to aid the management and analysis of the gift card program.
Supporting customers in remote areas
Another problem is that retailers who already have gift card programs often struggle to support customers in more isolated areas. Customers here cannot easily reach shopping centers, so online shopping is an important sales channel. However, cash is still the preferred method of payment for many, and customers feel uncomfortable sharing credit card details online, or have reservations about internet security. Ogloba have developed a solution whereby prepaid online marketplace gift cards are sold in small stores throughout remote regions, developing a new sales channel. In Indonesia for example, there are over 20,000 POS locations that have the potential to become locations where rural customers can convert cash to a prepaid gift card.
A streamlined approach
The Ogloba platform acts as the gateway to a host of related services for the online market place retailer, allowing them to:
1. Create and sell the merchant’s gift card on their own website/app.
2. Create and sell the merchant’s gift card in a third party location.
3. Sell third party gift cards in the merchants website/app.
4. Convert cash to gift card for consumers in remote areas.
The Ogloba gift card platform is a one-stop management system that allows online merchants to control the entire gift card creation, distribution, activation, and redemption process.
Naturally, Ogloba can facilitate the use of traditional plastic gift cards, but often recommend digital gift cards as a secure, cost-effective, and easier to manage alternative. The digital gift card works in exactly the same way as a standard plastic gift card except of course, it is not a physical object. It can be redeemed online by entering the card number (with PIN if necessary), or in a physical store by scanning the EAN128 barcode that appears on the mobile screen when customer requests redemption.
Please read our detailed Gift Cards for Online Marketplaces overview to find out more:
