Tops Friendly Markets Now Sells Gift Cards Online With Blackhawk Network

Tops Friendly Markets now sells its company-branded tangible and digital gift cards through its website. The supermarket company’s online gift card program, which is fueled by international branded payments provider Blackhawk Network, lets customers buy gift cards individually or en masse for physical or electronic delivery, according to an announcement.

Tops Senior Vice President Diane Colgan said in the announcement that the pandemic has meaningfully reshaped the way in which individuals shop and pay for supermarket items. Colgan said the firm wanted a partner that could assist it in swiftly rolling out its online gift card program to meet those shopping preferences that were quickly coming to the surface.

“Blackhawk’s powerful, end-to-end solutions helped us create smooth, omnichannel gifting options for our guests since the cards can be bought online wherever people are shopping and redeemed in-store or online at their recipients’ convenience,” Colgan said in the announcement.

According to the announcement, 2020 holiday sales data from Blackhawk Network’s partners showed that gift cards sold directly from a merchant’s website were up 70 percent over 2019.

Jennifer Philo, GVP, U.S. digital commerce and loyalty, Blackhawk Network, said in the announcement that the broad demand for online gifting choices and gift card eCommerce programs has become clear during the last year and particularly the recent holiday shopping season.

“Empowering shoppers with multiple paths to purchase can help merchants like Tops tap into new buyer segments, open opportunities for cross- and up-selling, drive brand awareness, create customized promotions and encourage customer loyalty,” Philo said in the announcement.

Blackhawk’s infrastructure enables customized and flexible experiences that encompass fraud mitigation, digitized marketing promotions and distribution, according to the announcement.

As PYMNTS previously reported, digital gift cards were already experiencing increasing popularity before the pandemic pressed its foot down on the accelerator on all things digital, but the pandemic had dramatically heightened their prevalence in shoppers’ carts over the 2020 holiday season.