According to the Polish Bank Association's "Świąteczny Portfel Polaków 2025" report, the average Pole planned to spend PLN 677 on Christmas gifts, with total holiday spending up 13% year on year. Some of that money reaches clinics as gift vouchers every year. The trouble is that most clinics treat a voucher as a simple till transaction rather than as their cheapest way to acquire a new client.
Why a voucher is more than a present
A gift voucher combines three things a clinic usually chases separately: cash up front, footfall in the quiet season and new names in the database.
- Cash in December. The buyer pays today; the treatment happens weeks or months later.
- A new person in the chair. Zenoti's 2025 benchmark shows that one in four people redeeming a gift card is brand new to the business. You paid nothing in ads to reach them.
- Top-up spend at redemption. In the GCVA and GlobalData study, 68% of people who redeemed a card spent more than its value. In the US survey by TSG and Bank of America the figure was 47%.
The category is growing in Poland too. Research and Markets estimates the Polish gift card market will reach USD 2.07 billion in 2025 (+8.6% year on year) and around USD 2.77 billion by 2029.
The downside: vouchers that never come back
An unredeemed voucher looks like pure profit, but for a clinic it is bad news. The recipient never got to know you, never came back and never referred anyone. The problem is large: Bankrate's September 2024 survey found that 43% of US adults hold at least one unused gift card, and the average unused balance rose from USD 116 to USD 244 in three years. More than one in three adults had lost money by losing a card, missing the expiry date or simply forgetting it.
These are US figures, but the mechanism is universal: without reminders, a voucher ends up in a drawer. For a clinic the goal is not breakage. It is redemption and a second visit.
Value voucher or treatment voucher?
| Criterion | Value voucher (e.g. PLN 500) | Treatment-specific voucher |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of purchase | High, the buyer needn't know your menu | Lower, requires knowing what the recipient wants |
| Chance of top-up spend | High, the amount rarely matches a price exactly | Low, the treatment is fully prepaid |
| Schedule planning | Harder | Easier, you know the treatment and practitioner |
| VAT in Poland | Usually multi-purpose, VAT on redemption | Usually single-purpose, VAT on sale |
Poland's rules for single- and multi-purpose vouchers have applied since 2019 (Articles 8a and 8b of the VAT Act, Journal of Laws 2018 item 2433). Clinics that mix medical and cosmetic services may face different VAT rates, so review your voucher template with your accountant before launch.
Five decisions to make before the holiday season
A simple plan you can roll out in October and November.
1. Pick two or three voucher formats. One value voucher (for example PLN 300 and PLN 500) plus one or two vouchers for high-margin, short treatments. Too much choice slows the buyer down.
2. Set an expiry date and state it clearly. Poland's consumer authority UOKiK notes that the seller sets the expiry date and must communicate it clearly. Too short frustrates the recipient; too long blurs your schedule. Above all, print it on the voucher and in the terms.
3. Sell online, not only at reception. The buyer is often not your client. A simple page with online payment and email delivery captures after-hours purchases, including the last days before Christmas Eve.
4. Plan redemption for January and February. The TSG survey found that 47% of consumers had spent all their holiday gift cards by Valentine's Day, and 74% had used at least half. Reserve slots in the quieter weeks and offer dates as soon as the voucher is activated.
5. Record every recipient in your CRM as a separate lead. Each person redeeming a voucher should enter your database with their own details and consents, tagged with the source "voucher". That is how you measure how many vouchers turned into a second, paid visit.
A worked example: what one campaign can deliver
The numbers below are an illustration built on assumptions, not results from a specific clinic.
- You sell 60 vouchers at PLN 400: PLN 24,000 in December cash flow.
- If one in four redeemers is new (Zenoti's benchmark rate), that is roughly 15 new clients with zero ad spend.
- If half of redeemers top up by PLN 100 on average (a more cautious assumption than the 68% in the GCVA study), that adds about PLN 3,000 in revenue.
- If 5 of those 15 new clients book a second treatment, every later visit is profit that would not exist without the voucher.
The biggest leak is the last step. Without an expiry reminder and a suggested next visit, the voucher ends as a single transaction.
A reminder sequence after the sale
| When | Who | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Right after purchase | Buyer | Confirmation plus a PDF voucher to print or forward |
| 7 days after the holidays | Recipient | Booking invitation with a link and open slots |
| 30 days before expiry | Recipient | Expiry reminder |
| 3-7 days after redemption | Recipient | Review request and a complementary treatment suggestion |
Marketing contact with the recipient requires their own consent, so collect it at voucher activation or booking.
FAQ
How long should a gift voucher be valid?
There is no single statutory period in Poland, but UOKiK stresses that the seller sets it and must disclose it clearly. In practice, choose a window that lets the recipient book comfortably, and show it on the voucher and in your terms.
Is a treatment voucher taxed differently from a value voucher?
Usually, yes. A voucher for a specific service at a known VAT rate is typically single-purpose (VAT due on sale), while a value voucher usable across services is multi-purpose (VAT due on redemption). Confirm the classification with your accountant.
How do I measure whether voucher sales work?
Track three numbers: value of vouchers sold, redemption rate and the share of recipients who return for a second paid visit. The last one tells you the most about return on the campaign.
Should I discount vouchers?
You don't have to. Vouchers sell on convenience and gifting appeal. Instead of a discount, an add-on works better, such as a free consultation with vouchers above a set amount.
Summary
A gift voucher is one of the few channels where a client pays you to bring a new person into your clinic. The profit only appears when the recipient redeems it and comes back. In Palyri, vouchers, bookings and reminders live in one place, and every recipient enters the database as a separate lead, so you see not just voucher sales but how many of them became regular clients.
Sources
- Polish Bank Association (ZBP) and Minds&Roses, Świąteczny Portfel Polaków 2025 (money.pl)
- Research and Markets, Poland Gift Card and Incentive Card Market, 2025
- GCVA and GlobalData, State of the Nation 2024 (Retail Times)
- TSG and Bank of America, 2024 Consumer Gift Card Trends
- Bankrate, Gift Card Survey 2024 (Audacy)
- Zenoti, 2025 Beauty and Wellness Benchmark Report
- Act of 9 Nov 2018 amending the VAT Act, Journal of Laws 2018 item 2433
- UOKiK, consumer guide to gift cards
Want to implement this in your clinic?
Book a free Palyri demo. We'll show how it works on your clinic's data.
Book demo via WhatsAppPaulina Zielińska
Konsultant w branży beauty
Ponad 4 lata doświadczenia w branży beauty: najpierw od środka jako manager kliniki, teraz jako niezależny konsultant. Wdrożyła systemy automatyzacji sprzedaży i CRM w kilkudziesięciu klinikach estetycznych w Polsce.