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Fashion retailer H&M Hennes & Mauritz LP has partnered with the payments platform Blackhawk Network to offer business-to-business gift cards. H&M is expected to use the cards as employee and consumer incentives.
“As our gift card program has continued to evolve, it has become a significant driver of sales for our brand as well as one of our best customer acquisition tools,” Jeff Miller, gift cards program manager for H&M says in a prepared statement. “The B2B gift card market represents a tremendous growth opportunity for us. Our gift card sales have grown significantly over the past couple years, and we’re excited to continue that growth through our program with Blackhawk.”
Such cards are a fast-growing segment of the $125.4 billion gift card market, controlling a 23% share, according to Mercator Advisory Group. Blackhawk, long a major presence in consumer gift cards, launched its Velocity B2B gift card platform in 2016 as an independent business unit that offers merchants B2B gift card program-management services. According to Blackhawk B2B gifting revenue can be two to five times higher for merchants than consumer gift card revenue.
“When it comes to rewards and incentives, people consistently identify gift cards as their top choices from employers, retailers, and the other businesses that they interact with,” Tom Boucher, head of B2B gift card programs, Blackhawk Network, says in a prepared statement. “We look forward to growing [H&M’s] presence in the B2B gift card space.”
