The Parable Group and Parable Christian Stores announced today the expansion of their National Gift Card program.

With the expansion, customers have the flexibility to redeem gift cards at all Parable stores and on Parable.com, regardless of where the gift cards were purchased. Customers can choose from six gift card designs and are able to check the outstanding balance of a gift card on Parable.com.

Using detailed data, The Parable Group tracks all Parable Christian Stores gift card transactions, sold and redeemed, along with the retail locations and amounts. If a gift card is sold in one location and redeemed in another, The Parable Group manages the distribution of the gift card dollars.

“We’ve offered gift cards to our franchise partner stores for over 8 years, but now we’ve made it easier for franchisees to accept gift cards purchased from other Parable stores,” said Steve Potratz, president of The Parable Group. “This is a great example of camaraderie and teamwork that the retailers we serve exhibit while allowing a seamless customer experience with the Parable brand.”

Gift cards are a growing part of most retailers’ holiday business. What was a $120 billion business last year is expected to grow to some $140 billion by 2016, according to National Retail Federation.

“In addition of being a gift to the recipient, a gift card is also a gift for the store,” Potratz said. “It allows a store to get referred to by a friend or relative of a potential customer, for free, and get paid for it. That means the store could get new customers that they would not have been able to reach otherwise. The person buying the gift card is actually vouching for the store, basically stating they trust them to provide quality products.”

Not only are gift card sales growing, but retailers also are finding innovative ways to tie gift cards to their store promotions.

“Some retailers have promotions where if you purchase a $100 gift card, you get a $10 gift card for yourself,” said Jeff Bruenning, merchandising manager for The Parable Group. “Many retailers are finding that gift cards are a great way to promote their products other than with the typical discounts.”

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