by 
Gift cards are one of the easiest ways to bring in extra revenue without adding new services, changing your pricing, or hiring more staff. For dive shop customers, they’re perfect for the holidays, birthday surprises, graduation gifts, or even a quick “thanks” to the friend who lent you their gear.
Knowing how to sell gift cards effectively can turn one-time gifts into long-term business. They help boost sales during slower weeks, attract new divers, and reengage past customers — all with minimal effort on your part.
In this guide, you’ll discover why gift cards work so well, how to sell them through your point of sale (POS) system, and ways to promote them year-round.
Why Selling Gift Cards Benefits Your Dive Shop
Gift cards bring in revenue upfront and encourage repeat visits and referrals. They also offer a surprising financial upside — 59% of gift cards go unredeemed. If yours have an expiration date, that’s revenue you keep, even if the card is never used.
Here are three reasons your dive shop should sell gift cards.
1. Immediate Cash Flow
Gift cards provide a cash injection the moment they’re purchased, even if the service isn’t redeemed for weeks or months. That upfront revenue can help cover overhead during slower periods or the off-season.
Knowing how many gift cards were sold in advance makes it easier to forecast demand, adjust staffing, and stock up on gear or rental items for upcoming redemptions.
2. Increases Average Spend
When customers redeem gift cards, they tend to spend big — often up to five times the card’s value — treating it like a discount and opting for upgrades, gear, or add-ons they might not buy otherwise. It’s an excellent opportunity to upsell guided dives, multi-class packages, or premium rental equipment without a hard pitch.
3. Drives Referrals and New Customers
Gift cards are one of the easiest ways to attract new customers. They’re a built-in referral — your shop is introduced to a brand-new diver without extra effort.
Even if the original recipient doesn’t dive, they might regift or resell the card, putting your shop in front of someone new and generating revenue.
How To Sell Gift Cards Through Your POS System
Understanding their value is one thing, but learning how to sell gift cards requires strategy. You need to make them easy to set up, promote, and track.
Using a POS system to manage gift cards means everything, from setup to redemption, is tracked in the same system you already use for sales, rentals, and courses. With Dive Shop 360’s integrated gift card module, you can issue, sell, load, and redeem gift cards without switching tools.
Here are four important steps for selling gift cards through your POS system.
Step 1: Set Up Gift Card Options in Your POS
Create gift cards as stock-keeping units (SKUs) in Dive Shop 360. This means they sell just like any other product, offering digital cards, physical cards, or both.
Add preset denominations like $25, $50, and $100 to speed up checkout, but also allow custom amounts so customers can cover full classes, equipment rentals, or unique dive experiences.
Step 2: Customize the Branding
Gift cards are more appealing when they reflect your brand. Use underwater imagery, your shop logo, or dive-themed colors to make digital and physical cards feel part of the experience.
If you’re selling cards in store, consider eye-catching display options like branded sleeves, countertop holders, or bundled add-ons.
Step 3: Train Staff To Sell and Redeem Cards
Make sure your team is comfortable loading, issuing, and redeeming gift cards through Dive Shop 360 during checkout. Walk them through the process so they can handle questions confidently. Then take it a step further — offer simple scripts they can use at the counter:
- “Looking for a last-minute gift? We have gift cards for gear, classes, and rentals.”
- “If you’re shopping for someone else, a gift card lets them pick exactly what they want.”
- “Want to add a gift card? They’re easy to use and never expire.”
- “You can reload this card any time if planning a few more dives this season.”
Step 4: Track Balances and Usage
Once gift cards are in circulation, your POS dashboard makes tracking active balances and usage easy. Dive Shop 360 lets you see which cards haven’t been redeemed so you can follow up.
Send reminder emails or texts to nudge customers with unused balances — it’s an easy way to bring people back into the shop and encourage another booking or purchase.
Where and How To Market Your Gift Cards
If you want to learn how to sell gift cards, they should be part of your everyday sales environment, not something you only bring up during the holiday season. That means building them into your physical displays, online presence, and customer touchpoints all year.
1. Feature Them In Store and Online
Use eye-level signage at checkout, hang tags on gear racks, or place small displays near the register. Add banners to your homepage online and include gift card links on class booking pages.
Create a “Gift Card” story highlight on social media and post timely reminders around special gifting moments. The goal is to catch people when they’re browsing, not only when buying.
2. Promote Around Important Holidays and Milestones
Use seasonal and personal moments to position gift cards as the perfect option. Push during Christmas, Father’s Day, and Valentine’s Day. Target birthdays and graduations with email or social media campaigns. Or, even better, tie gift cards to diver milestones: “Just earned your Open Water Certification? Treat yourself or a friend!”
3. Use Email and SMS To Push Offers
Use email and SMS to reach customers with timely promotions. Last-minute reminders before big holidays or birthdays can prompt quick purchases. Limited-time deals like “buy $100, get $10 free” create urgency and often lead to higher-value redemptions.
Dive Shop 360 automates these messages for you, making marketing efforts faster and easier for smaller stores.
4. Partner With Local Businesses
Work with nearby hotels, surf shops, and charter tour operators to expand your reach. You can cross-promote gift cards at check-in desks, retail counters, or during package bookings. They’re also a great addition to raffle prizes or event giveaways, putting your brand in front of new customers without heavy advertising spend.
5. Handle Gift Card Terms and Redemption Policies
Clear policies help avoid confusion for staff and customers. Be upfront about expiration dates, and explain how partial redemptions or reloads work. If a card is lost or stolen, let buyers know what steps to take and whether balances can be recovered.
Learn How To Sell Gift Cards in Your Dive Shop
Learning how to sell gift cards is a great place to start if you want to add a consistent, flexible revenue stream to your dive shop. They’re easy to offer, simple to redeem, and create a reason for new and returning customers to walk through your doors.
Dive Shop 360’s POS system makes managing gift cards simple. Add digital or physical gift cards and track how they’re used. Then, use built-in marketing tools to send reminders, promote seasonal deals, or alert customers when their cards are about to expire.
Since the system is built for dive shops, you can also manage rentals, retail sales, dive trips, and certifications — all in one place, with useful integrations that support your daily operations.
Interested in a dive-ready POS system that fits your shop? Use Dive Shop 360’s build and price tool to create a custom setup and get a quote based on your services, staff, and sales needs.
