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Farmington, Connecticut (July 25, 2007) – Retailers, restaurants, gift stores, and other small businesses now employ a $99 gift card system that can and has produced dramatic sales increases.

For years, USA Today columnist and business author Rhonda Abrams has urged single location businesses, including service businesses, to sell gift cards.  She calls the cards, “the hottest trend in retail.” Research backs up that statement. After clothes, gift cards were the second most popular gift in 2006 according to Consumer Reports.  Consumers now spend a whopping $35+ billion every year on the cards.

Research studies and small business experts point to several factors contributing to this trend:

• 70% of gift-card givers say the cards are a better choice than regular gifts  
• 66% of adults want to receive a gift card
• 21% of gift card users spend more than the face value of the card

For small businesses, the cards have several additional advantages.  They level the playing field by making the small store appear as sophisticated as the industry giant.  Cards are hard to forge or steal because they have no value until the retailer “loads” the card. Thus, another huge benefit that is often overlooked is that, unlike gift certificates, gift cards can be attractively displayed where consumers can see them.

Add to these advantages the availability of a complete gift card system that costs as little as $99 for 25 cards.  The full color, credit-card plastic EZ Gift Card™ comes with a single-entry paper-based record-keeping system.  They system comes with a free promotional kit that includes a display rack, handbook of marketing tips, tent card promotions, and more.  As soon as this patented system arrives, it’s ready for use.

Small businesses choose from 30+ high gloss designs that prominently display their business name, logo and other customized information.  There’s no electronic equipment to buy or processing fees.  And the cards are producing sales results.

Salon owner Christina Jackson says she “sold as many EZ Gift Cards™ in two months as we used to sell paper certificates in one year!”  In Scottsburg, Indiana business owner Melissa Weaver says, “I switched to EZ Gift Cards™ from gift certificates and sold nine times as many in one month alone!”

“Think of gift cards as a full-time, unpaid employee,” says Dan Hincks, president of Data Management Inc. (DMI).  “Displayed on a highly visible countertop, they’re always working for the business, giving shoppers the gift of choice.  The cards save them time and make their decisions easier.  Every indication is that gift cards will continue to produce more and more sales, especially for the many smaller businesses not cashing in yet on this profitable trend.”  

Media Interviews
The creators of the EZ Gift Card™ system are available for phone or electronic interviews on a limited basis.  Call Mary Ann Clerkin at 860.677.8586 x 330 to arrange. More information and testimonials are on the website, www.giftcentral.com. 

About Data Management, Inc.
Data Management, Inc. is a designer, manufacturer and marketer of specialized record-keeping products.  Founded in 1961, the company provides solutions that generate revenue for small businesses, save time and money, and reduce paperwork.  The company’s Gift Certificate Central division produces gift certificates and gift cards, offers short customized print runs, and fulfills most orders in a matter of days to thousands of clients nationwide.  The company is located in Farmington, Connecticut and on the web at www.datamanage.com and www.giftcentral.com.