Holiday Shoppers Get a Boost from Retailer Rebate Offers

ATLANTA, GA (PRWEB) December 18, 2003

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, several retailers have hedged their bets to insure their success this year by offering a new form of incentive to bargain hungry consumers. As opposed to the traditional discount or mail-in rebate, a growing number of retailers are appealing to a motivation stronger than simply frugality – the need for consumers to secure their financial future. More specifically, retailers have begun offering shoppers a kick-back in the form of deposits into their college savings or retirement accounts through a practice called “microinvesting.” According to a recent report by Financial Research Corporation, microinvesting programs have the potential to capture more than $21.7 billion annually in eligible shopping transactions, representing an incremental $1.1 billion per year in assets to individual investors.

Vesdia Corporation, which owns or manages about a half-dozen of the most popular microinvesting programs in the U.S. and Canada, launched its first program nearly three years ago, but has seen retailer interest in its program peak during the past few months. “We’ve been extremely pleased with some of the brand names that came onboard in the months leading up to this holiday shopping season,” says Alan Goldstein, Vesdia’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. “While we’ve always had a large number of online and gift certificate merchants in our programs, we’ve been especially pleased with the continued growth of our off-line merchant network. Based on the number of retailers we are currently in discussions with, I fully expect our off-line network to double in size by this time next year.”

Among Vesdia’s newest merchants is perennial holiday favorite Hickory Farms, which operates more than 800 brick-and-mortar and kiosk locations during the months of November and December. “For over 50 years, shoppers have trusted Hickory Farms to deliver their most important gifts. So, helping families across the country save towards their financial goals by providing rebates to members of Vesdia’s BabyMint college savings program and NestEggz retirement savings program is simply our way of saying ‘thanks’ for your trust in our company and its products,” said Andrea L. Mcgann, Director of Retail Marketing for Hickory Farms.

The Hickory Farms philosophy of providing a more meaningful incentive to shoppers is a sentiment also shared by FastFrame, which has more than 250 custom picture framing shops across the U.S. “Any retailer can provide a discount; we and our franchisees believe that going the extra mile and helping people achieve their dreams – even if only in a small way – helps to differentiate FastFrame as an organization with higher ideals,” says Brian Harper, President of the California-based company. “Whether they are framing something to enhance the décor of their own home, or are buying an extra special gift for a friend or loved one, we’re going to help them save towards college or retirement,” continued Harper.

While the rebate incentives will surely help participating retailers have a happy holiday, consumers have equal reason to celebrate the season given the trend towards rebate incentives. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), total holiday spending is projected to be $217.4 billion this year. If that spending were to occur at retailers participating in microinvesting programs, with an average rebate of just 5%, it would translate into nearly $11 billion in investable assets for holiday shoppers. “Microinvesting programs are truly a win-win for both participating retailers and consumers – retailers end up increasing customer loyalty and decreasing their promotional expense when compared to other traditional promotions, while consumers end up investing assets that otherwise may have never been set aside,” elaborated Vesdia’s Goldstein. “The tragedy is that many consumers don’t realize these rebates are available to them, they don’t realize they are leaving money on the table by not participating.”

About Vesdia Corporation

Vesdia is widely recognized as the global leader in the field of microinvesting technology. Through its network of top-name retailers and name brands, Vesdia’s patent-protected technology enables individual investors to save towards major life events without incurring out-of-pocket expenses. In addition to serving as the “savings engine” behind its own award-winning savings programs, BabyMint and NestEggz, the company's proprietary technology and coalition loyalty network is also licensed by financial institutions, retailers, and credit card issuers in the U.S. and Canada to facilitate customer loyalty.

Vesdia Corporation is a privately held company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information please visit http://www.Vesdia.com.

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