Good Gift Vouchers

What makes a good gift voucher?

• Discount should be more than 10 % off listed price. If the gift voucher can't provide an equivalent of 10% discount of the listed price, then it is useless.

I got this voucher with terms & conditions stating "a minimum purchase of 12 packets of Pampers/Merries diapers". There is an ambiguity in the term "packet". If it meant a pack of diapers (e.g. Pampers New Baby Diapers size S 46 diapers cost SGD 18.20), then 12 packs would be SGD 218.40! That would translate to a  3.7 % discount which is not attractive.

 Anyway, there is also Pampers New Baby Diapers (24 pieces) that cost SGD 8.80 per pack. At 12 packs, they cost SGD 105.60 and an SGD 8.00 off would translate to a 7.57% discount. Well, it's still less than 10% discount.

However, if you compare with Dutch Lady promotion of SGD 3.00 off for every SGD 8.00 spent. That translate to 37.5% discount! Way better than the first example. However, practically, I would have to buy approximately SGD 9.00 of Dutch Lady product to qualify for the SGD 3.00 off, which is still better at 33.3% discount.

This is how voucher/promotion supposed to be! At more than 30% discount. Great buy Dutch Lady!

Another good example is Old Town White Coffee SGD 5.00 off for minimum SGD 20.00 spent in the restaurant. That is a 25% discount! Although it's not possible to have exactly a SGD 20.00 bill, the voucher is still better at more than 10% discount.

Old Town White Coffee voucher worth SGD 5.00 for every SGD 20.00 spent (equivalent to 25% discount).

• Ubiquity to redeem the voucher. If the voucher requires the holder to travel to far region of Singapore just to spent it, then it will not be a favourite.
• Free-means-free vouchers. Sometime back, a friend received a free facial treatment voucher and went to redeem it. The outlet provided free facial treatment to half of the face (as a comparison for "before-and-after effect" of treatment). However, the other half of the face will require payment! That's a deceitful tactic (even if there is fine prints on it).
• Reasonable time/duration to redeem voucher.
• Privacy protection voucher. A voucher that requires filling in personal particulars with name, address, phone number, spouse name, children's name etc. can sometimes be an uncomfortable feeling, especially when we don't know how the personal data will be protected/safe-guarded.i

That is my list of good voucher criteria. I'll add more if I can think of any.

Just to share.