A Gift Card Good For 100 Competing Retailers?
Written by Evan SchumanNovember 30th, 2009
A group of about 100 competing restaurants in Connecticut is trying an experiment: Each is putting out a joint gift card, one that would theoretically be much more attractive because it would give consumers far more choices. Could this idea possibly have value beyond food?
Restaurants are, by their nature, very different from most other retailers (to the extent that they are considered retailers at all). They tend to attract a strongly local customer base, so if another restaurant is just a few ZIP codes away, it's not likely to be too competitive. That could make the downside of such a program—giving dollars away to rivals—less of a problem. But the radical idea of such a joint gift card does address the fear of bankruptcy, which is what the Connecticut Attorney General stressed when his office announced the Connecticut card.
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I have strong reservations about the 'individual' certification and posting of that information for merchants. Can you imagine the potential employee poaching that might occur? The implications when competitors can look up how many are certified with each of their competitors? 
-Christine
