FORT LEE, Va., 2015-7-17 — /EPR Retail News/ — Looking for a gift to please your favorite military service member, but running short on ideas? Have you scoured the Web, searching online offer after online offer, trying to find that special gift with the best bang for your hard-earned buck? Look no further than your local commissary.
Commissary Gift Cards – available to anyone online and in-store for authorized shoppers – are a unique way to give the gift of groceries. And with the commissary’s average savings of 30 percent built in, you know you’re getting maximum value for your gift dollar, whether as an organization or individual gift giver.
Maybe that’s why the gift card program, which entered its fifth year June 29, has proved to be so popular. “We do about $5 million a year in gift card sales,” said Bob Bunch, the Defense Commissary Agency’s gift card program manager. “When you look at it, the cards have provided more than 560,000 gifts of groceries, worth more than $19 million.”
Also, according to Bunch, a Commissary Gift Card is more likely to be used than other types of gift cards. “Our redemption rate is really phenomenal,” he said, adding that almost 90 percent of all cards sold have been fully redeemed. “The average redemption rate for a standard gift card is about 75 percent.”
Here are some Commissary Gift Card quick facts:
- Gift cards are available at all commissaries worldwide – on a rack at full service, front-end registers – as well as the website. Just use the “Place your order” button on the Gift Cards page.
- Cards are good for five years from the date of purchase.
- Only gift cards purchased online incur a shipping and handling fee. There are no fees when the card is purchased in a store.
- There is no limit to the number of gifts cards that a purchaser can buy. However, DeCA officials recommend organizations and activities consider purchasing their cards online if they plan to purchase more than 50 at a time.
- The cards can be sent anywhere in the United States. However, cards can only be shipped to APO, FPO or DPO addresses outside the U.S.
- To check card balances, use the “Check Your Balance” button on the Gift Cards page.
For customer service questions, please call 877-988-4438, which is also found on the back of the gift card. Customers can also use this number to check the balance on their card.
Customers who still have unused gift vouchers, the precursor to the gift card, may still redeem them through Aug. 31, 2016, regardless of the expiration date printed on it. After that date, DeCA will no longer accept the vouchers as a form of payment.
Note: For graphics related to this news release, please visit our Flickr page.
About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Authorized patrons purchase items at cost plus a 5-percent surcharge, which covers the costs of building new commissaries and modernizing existing ones. Shoppers save an average of more than 30 percent on their purchases compared to commercial prices – savings amounting to thousands of dollars annually. A core military family support element, and a valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.
Media Contact:
Kevin L. Robinson
(804) 734-8000, Ext. 4-8773
kevin.robinson@deca.mil