The arrival of June brings summer vacations closer, and most companies focus their energy on attracting new customers with summer campaigns. In doing so, they often overlook a segment of buyers who have already shown the highest level of trust, those who have been keeping your gift cards in their wallets or email inboxes for months.

In the world of gift card management, there is a term that puts a smile on the faces of chief financial officers but often causes marketing managers a fair share of grey hair: breakage.

This refers to the value of gift cards that will never be redeemed. Although this free revenue seems like pure profit at first glance, modern phygital retail and advanced closed loyalty systems reveal a different truth. Letting a gift card expire means missing an opportunity to build a real relationship.

Why is unspent money actually a lost opportunity

When a gift card remains unused, the company retains the received amount but loses everything that happens when a customer actually crosses the threshold of the store or visits the website:

• Loss of additional spending upselling: Statistically speaking, most customers spend more than the value of the card itself when redeeming a gift card, often up to 30 or 50 per cent more. (Source)

• Missing brand interaction: A customer who does not redeem their card does not experience your service or product. This closes the door to the next stage, converting the buyer into a regular brand ambassador.

• Bad experiences upon expiration: If a customer realizes that a card expired just before summer, when they finally had time for it, it causes silent dissatisfaction with your brand, even if the rules are clearly stated.

June is the ideal month to break this cycle. Before people completely disconnect and head to the beaches, they are still in the phase of planning purchases and vacations. This is your moment to reactivate sleeping customers.

Strategic June steps to reactivate sleeping cards

Instead of aggressive sales messages, companies with the appropriate technological background can use subtle yet highly effective content approaches.

1. Smart, friendly reminders

Instead of a dry notification stating "Your card expires in 30 days," turn the communication to the benefit of the customer. The June reminder should be designed as an aid for summer planning. Example:"Did you know that a summer treat is still waiting for you in your inbox? Use your gift card to refresh your wardrobe before your vacation or treat yourself to a weekend getaway." With modern systems, you can automate these reminders based on the card issue date.

2. Creating summer experience packages

In the summer, people do not buy products; they buy feelings and solutions for hot days. Retailers can suggest exclusive summer packages to holders of sleeping cards, positioned exactly around standard gift card values, for example, 20, 50, or 100 EUR. This gives the customer the feeling that the gift card is a ticket to a complete, preprepared summer experience, which reduces friction in decision-making.

3. Connecting digital with physical

Summer is a time of mobility. Make sure that a customer who received an email reminder while browsing on their phone can easily redeem this card anywhere, whether online on the go or directly at a physical location, such as a seaside pop up store or a hotel reception. Seamless integration reduces the likelihood that the customer will postpone redemption until later, which often means never.

A gift card is the beginning, not the end, of the journey

The goal of advanced gift card management is not just high sales at the end of the year and hoping for maximum breakage. The real goal is to recognize the gift card as a tool for acquiring new, loyal customers.

When you successfully reactivate a sleeping cardholder and provide them with a premium summer experience, the process does not end there. This is the moment when the customer uses the gift, feels the value of your brand, and officially enters your loyalty ecosystem. As an accidental gift recipient, you have created a long-term ambassador who will keep returning in the autumn.

Therefore, instead of looking at unspent funds as a closed accounting entry, look at them this year as an investment in your next great customer loyalty story.