Panda Express Goes Digital with Gift Cards

Panda Express, has launched a digital gifting program powered by Blackhawk Network's CashStar Consumer technology. Using Blackhawk's end-to-end suite of services, the partnership allows Panda Express to provide a seamless ecommerce experience for customers in digital channels across devices. The program was officially rolled out for consumers in June to support the restaurant's more than 2,000 locations across the country.

"As consumers continue to be faced with limited gifting options as a result of the pandemic, we are excited to be able to offer digital gifting solutions to help us meet our guests' expectations," said Scott Varley, Senior Manager of Retail & Off-premise, Panda Restaurant Group. "Through our partnership with Blackhawk, we were able to not only simplify the experience for our guests, but also triple our eCommerce gift card sales in the first two months on the platform."

Sales data from Blackhawk Network's partners revealed that gift cards sold directly from a restaurant or merchant's website since mid-March are up 70% over 2019. It's more important than ever to have an optimized ecommerce gift card program, and Blackhawk's technology allows for a flexible, tailored experience that includes distribution, automated marketing promotions and fraud mitigation.