July has arrived, bringing with it that familiar period when offices empty out, cities slow down, and most companies voluntarily hit the brakes. The general consensus is that everyone is on vacation, no one is buying, and it’s best to just wait for the autumn rush.

At SmartGifty, we know this is one of the biggest and most wasteful mistakes in modern business.

Customers don't stop spending during the summer—their habits simply transform. They move from the web out into the field, to tourist destinations and pop-up locations. The sales rhythm doesn’t grind to a halt; it just moves into the real world. And this is precisely where a critical gap opens up—where most brands lose touch with their customers and voluntarily hand over valuable behavioral data to banks and third-party intermediaries.

In this edition of our newsletter, we are debunking the myth of the summer slump. We reveal how implementing a phygital strategy can blur the lines between the digital and physical worlds, keep cash flow within your own house, and wake up the dormant funds in your database while the competition is asleep.

So sit back, grab a refreshing drink, and find out how to take full control of your sales ecosystem, even in the height of the summer season.

Where do your sales and data actually vanish to in July? July is here, bringing along that quiet, dangerous consensus in the world of marketing and sales: "Offices are empty, cities are deserted, everyone is at the beach. It’s time to shut down the engines, cut the budgets, and wait for the autumn rush."

July brings the ideal moment to confront a silent loyalty killer lurking in your databases. We are talking about expired and unused funds on gift cards—known in the industry as breakage. Many companies mistakenly believe that forgotten money is pure profit. In the short term, perhaps, but in the long run, it means a passive customer who has forgotten about your brand and is failing to drive new value.

Instead of letting these funds quietly expire, leverage the power of hyper-personalized automation. Use the summer lull to launch a targeted campaign that activates these "ghosts" in your database.

All it takes is a simple, actionable step: set up an automated reminder for all card or voucher holders who still have a balance but haven't interacted with your system for over three months. Send them a refreshing summer incentive—such as an exclusive perk or a small bonus credit—if they redeem their card by the end of the month.

By doing this, you will achieve two things. First, you'll unlock hidden revenue and drive foot traffic to your locations right when everyone else is sounding the alarm over the summer slump. Second, you’ll pull customers back into your sales cycle with the feeling that you genuinely care about them—which is the absolute foundation of true, long-term loyalty.

The modern market is in the midst of the largest transformation in the history of the retail and hospitality sectors. While just a few years ago we spoke of separate channels and distinguished online shopping from visiting physical locations, today that boundary has completely blurred. At their core, customers have become channel-agnostic.

Shopping malls are no longer just places to buy goods. They are multi-million and, increasingly, multi-billion-dollar investments that have transformed into complex, multi-functional lifestyle community hubs that combine retail, entertainment, dining, and digital experiences.

More passengers are travelling than ever before. But as consumer behaviour shifts and passenger expectations evolve, the rules of travel retail are changing. The time has come to rethink how value is created.

When Vienna Airport reported revenues of €1.13 billion for 2025, it was a new record for the airport that had counted 32.6 million passengers last year. Interestingly: roughly a quarter of that turnover came from commercial activities such as retail and food & beverage. For joint CEO and COO Julian Jäger, the logic behind those figures is straightforward: “Quality drives dwell time, dwell time drives spending, and spending benefits everyone involved.”