Gap warns consumers over hoax email vouchers
LONDON - Clothing retailer Gap has warned consumers about an email voucher hoax, offering recipients 60% off items in the run up to its busiest time of the year.
The email vouchers, which are doctored versions of Gap's authentic vouchers offering 30% discounts, were originally circulated to the company's business associates and friends.
Counterfeit versions, which have been altered and rescanned to show a 60% discount, started to appear in UK Gap stores after consumers presented them to staff.
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Gap said the leaked 30% off vouchers, which were not intended for general consumer use, would be redeemable, but the company has now clamped down on the 60% fake versions.
A spokeswoman for Gap said the company was "disappointed" that its redemption scheme had been abused, and was now investigating the matter.
The news follows a spate of hoax email voucher incidents occurring in recent months that have turned the spotlight on the medium's security issues.
Littlewoods was forced into an embarrassing decision to reclaim 3,000 unauthorised online vouchers worth £25 each in October, after an email discount code originally meant to target only a few people ended up being circulated on chat rooms and retail websites.
Gap: turns away doctored vouchers
Tags
- FMCG |
- Digital |
- Direct Marketing |
- Gap |
- Sales Promotion |
- Clothing |
- Retail/Wholesale
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Comments
sam jenner - 28/11/2007
Dear Editor, Voucher promotions freely circulated by email are being increasingly used by retailers, particularly in the build up to Christmas. However, with fake 60%-off vouchers for Gap stores currently in circulation, this provides further evidence that retailers need to assert more control over their voucher promotions. If retailers want to maximise sales over the busy Christmas trading period and beyond then they should be looking to wholeheartedly embrace online marketing. However, the best way to attain real value from online activity over the long term is to leverage a solution that is secure, and completely trackable. The use of secure printable voucher technology can enable retailers to leverage the reach of a viral campaign without losing control of its promotional exposure by limiting the number of vouchers printed by each individual as well as in total across all their online media. It can also prevent the voucher from being viewed on screen and saved as a file, reducing the potential for opportunistic consumers to upload and “edit” the voucher in graphic applications such as Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. Furthermore, advances in printable voucher technology now provide a real insight into consumer response as well as increasing foot-fall in-store. New concepts such as video vouchers offer retailers the chance to engage consumers further by showing them flash video creative prior to printing a voucher. Without doubt, coupons & vouchers can be a highly effective method for retailers of all sizes to engage with their customers and drive in-store sales if correctly harnessed. The use of secure printable voucher technology gives retailers a tangible, quantifiable, measurable way of achieving direct consumer to brand interaction all within a safe and controlled environment. Yours sincerely Oliver Felstead European General Manager Couponstar Ltd www.couponstar.com