DETROIT Little Caesars Pizza said its gift cards are now being sold off the rack in $10 denominations at Walmart stores in 29 states, adding to the restaurant chain’s card distribution network of more than 30,000 mass or specialty retailer outlets.
The Detroit-based chain with more than 2,400 U.S. restaurants has for some time sold its packaged gift cards through a number of retailers, including Rite Aid, Winn Dixie, Dollar General and gasoline distributor Valero. Representatives of the chain’s franchisor, Little Caesars Enterprises Inc., said the cards are activated during checkout at the partner retailer’s location.
To extend gift card sales efforts beyond their Websites and establishments, a number of coffee, snack and quick- and full-service-restaurant chains in recent years have made gift cards available at third-party locations. Among them: Baja Fresh Mexican Grill of Thousand Oaks, Calif., Chili’s Grill & Bar of Dallas and Starbucks Coffee of Seattle.
The cards are provided to the retailers at a price below the redemption amount to compensate the retailer for shelf space and promotional activity. The rate of the discount can vary from deal to deal.
In some instances, retailers offer gift cards at a discount to their face value as loss leaders or to reward loyal customers. For example, the Costco membership store chain recently offered Baja Fresh and Starbucks gift cards discounted 20 percent or more from their face redemption value when purchased above a certain dollar amount.
