Safeway.com offers gift cards from Safeway and other retailers
A year ago, Safeway Inc. began selling gift cards for multiple retailers in its stores throughout the U.S. Now it`s selling them online through Safeway.com and Vons.com. The online grocers are selling gift cards for Safeway and Vons supermarkets plus 21 other retailers including Best Buy and Nordstrom.
“They’re selling better than expected,” says a spokesman for Safeway.com, which oversees the online operations of Safeway Inc., including Vons.com. “A lot of people like the capability to buy groceries and gift cards online.”
Jim Okamura, senior partner and a specialist in multi-channel retailing at consultants J.C. Williams Group, says Safeway.com appears to be setting a precedent. "This is the first I`ve heard of a retailer offering other retailers` gift cards online," he says.
Safeway.com and Vons.com started selling the gift cards online over the Thanksgiving weekend, following a strategy started in Safeway’s stores a year ago to sell gift cards for multiple retailers. Safeway’s stores include multiple brands throughout the U.S., including Dominick’s in Chicago and Genuardi’s in the East Coast.
Safeway is making the cards available online only to customers who live within the 465 ZIP code markets served by Safeway.com in California, Oregon and Washington, and to customers of Vons.com who live within the 35 ZIP code markets Vons.com serves in Las Vegas. The service is not available to Vons.com’s customers in southern California because of a grocery industry strike.
Safeway charges a $2.50 service fee for each shipping address in each gift card order. Although the cards can only be purchased by customers living within Safeway.com’s and Vons.com’s market areas, Safeway will ship them anywhere in the U.S.
Other retailers participating in Safeway’s online gift card program include Blockbuster Video, Sears, KB Toys, Old Navy, Starbucks and Footlocker. Safeway.com also lists The Home Depot, Toys R Us and The Sharper Image as future participants.
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