A love2shop gift card is a store-bound currency available for many storefronts, as well as their own popular corporate gift supplier site love2shop.co.uk. It is accepted by a wide range of retailers – across 20,000 stores, restaurants, and attractions in the UK. However, many show confusion about where to spend a love2shop gift card and what items are available for it.
In this article, Real Business will direct you to the places where you can spend love2shop gift cards, as well as what they’re available for, how to get them and more. As a business owner, a love2shop gift card or voucher can be an excellent gift when employees perform brilliantly, so knowing where your employees can use their gift is vital.
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What Are Love2shop Gift Vouchers And Gift Cards?
Love2shop gift cards are meant as a gift, perfect for those who prefer flexibility in their gifts, or for people whom you may not know well enough to offer a specific present. These gift cards are issued by Flexecash, a pre-paid card platform provided by Park Card Services Limited, which the Financial Conduct Authority authorises under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.
The platform offers access to items spread across multiple brands of differing sizes, with the most popular being recognisable names in the UK, such as Argos, Boots and Matalan. The top three purchases by category redeemed online and in-store via love2shop gift cards are fashion items, beauty and personal care, and electronics. These vouchers are paid either by pre-printed paper voucher or electronically via a contactless gift card option authorised and secured by the ‘Mastercard brand mark’ and is a registered trademark of Mastercard International Incorporated.
The UK gift card market is estimated to be worth over £8 billion annually. This valuation includes various gift card types, from single-brand cards to multi-retailer and digital gift cards like Love2Shop, which capture a significant share of this growing market. Industry expansion is driven by increased corporate adoption of employee rewards and consumer gifting preferences, especially during peak seasons such as Christmas.
Where To Spend Love2shop Gift Cards
A love2shop gift card can be redeemed online and in-store, with the in-store options typically being the most preferred way of using them. This is due to how the gift vouchers are designed, being available for multiple retailers as opposed to one or a few exclusively.
It is hard to get a full table due to how many retailers are eligible, but the following table shows the top places you can spend love2shop gift cards – however, understand that the list of retailers can increase or decrease semi-regularly:
| Category | Retailers |
|---|---|
| Department Stores | TK Maxx, Wilko, Debenhams, House of Fraser, Selfridges, John Lewis |
| Fashion and Footwear | Argos, New Look, Peacocks, River Island, Schuh, Foot Locker, Boux Avenue, Clarks, Nike, Next, The Edinburgh Woollen Mill |
| Jewellery and Accessories | Samuel, Ernest Jones, Goldsmiths, Beaverbrooks, F.Hinds, ROX Diamonds & Thrills, Fraser Har |
| Home and Furniture | HomeSense, Bensons for Beds, Ponden Home, Robert Dyas, Dunelm, Denby |
| Supermarkets | Iceland, The Food Warehouse, M&S, Sainsbury’s |
| Entertainment and Leisure | HMV, Theatre Tokens, Gulliver’s Theme Parks, Tenpin Bowling, Pizza Express, Original Factory Shop, WHSmith, Alton Towers, TGI Friday |
| Travel and Holidays | Love2Shop Holidays, Kuoni, Disneyland Resorts, Premier Inn, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Tour |
| Health and Beauty | Boots, Optical Express, The Perfume Shop, Champneys Spa, Rituals Cosmetics |
| Sports and Outdoors | GO Outdoors, Halfords, American Golf, Sporting Targets, iFly Indoor Skydiving, Blackpool Pleasure Beach. |
| Kids and Toys | The Entertainer, Toys R Us (UK locations), Gulliver’s Land, Gulliver’s World |
Online Retailers
Love2shop Gift Cards can be spent online at various websites, offering a convenient shopping experience from the comfort of your home. Here are some of the top online retailers where you can use your Love2shop Gift Cards:
- The Real Food Hub
- Argos
- Austin Reed
- DJM Music
- EWM
- Jaeger
- Love2shop Holidays
- Notes – A one-stop shop for travel and holiday needs: package holidays, European city breaks, cruises, hotels, car hire, airport hotels and more.
- Peacocks
- Ponden Home
- Schuh
- Scottsdale Golf
- Sty Gifts
- Virgin Experience Days
High Street Retailers
Love2shop Gift Vouchers and Gift Cards can be spent in a wide range of high street retailers:
- The Entertainer
- M&S
- Iceland
- Boots
- Debenhams
- Matalan
- Argos
- Wilko
- New Look
- Peacocks
- River Island
- HMV
- The Perfume Shop
- The Original Factory Shop
- The Scottish Wool Centre
- The Works
Experiences and Attractions
Here are some of the top experiences and attractions where you can use your Love2shop Gift Vouchers and Gift Cards:
- Love2shop Holidays
- Olympic Holidays
- First Choice
- Tui
- Jet2 Holidays
- Kuoni
- Disneyland Resorts
- Hoseasons
- Unique Track Days
- Pontins
- The London Bridge Experience
What Are The Differences Between Love-2-Shop Cards?
No, not all love-2-shop cards are the same. There are different types of redeemable cards, all branded with the Love2shop name, but with different categories:
- Love-2-Shop vouchers – These are the paper gift vouchers redeemable at the checkout.
- Love2Shop gift cards – These are plastic cards with reloadable balances.
- Love2shop ECards – Digital gift vouchers that are sent via email.
- Love2Shop contactless – Digital, app-based mobile platform.
The list of shops that accept the vouchers is slightly different to the ones that can accept gift cards, egift cards and contactless gift cards, so be sure to check before you spend.
How Do Businesses Use A Love2shop Gift Card As A Perfect Gift?
Buying a love2shop gift card as a present for one or multiple employees is common amongst businesses. The reason is that businesses are split into departments, whose hiring options are varied across age ranges, backgrounds etc. The versatility of these vouchers makes them the perfect gift for all your employees.
Over 150,000 UK businesses use them for various purposes, including employee recognition, customer loyalty programs, and holiday gifts. These cards are particularly popular around Christmas time. Gift vouchers also differ from cash bonuses, which are seen as extra padding to an employee’s overall wage.
Benefits:
- Suitable for any age range
- Available in booklets of £50, £100, and £200
- Available in denominations of £5 & £10
- Can be bought in bulk
- Creates a compelling awareness scheme
- Always satisfying as a gift due to versatility
Tax Benefits For Employers Using Love2shop Gift Cards
Love2Shop vouchers can be used to give employees tax-free gifts under the HMRC’s trivial benefits allowance. This allows businesses to give up to £50 worth of vouchers per employee per year without any tax implications, and is cheaper to gift than via payroll due to the additional £33.68 per basic rate tax-paying employee which is illustrated in the table below:
| £50 Gift Voucher | Payroll | Love2Shop |
|---|---|---|
| Paid in vouchers | £50 | £50 |
| Tax at 20% rate + National Insurance | £23.53 | 0 |
| Employers National Insurance | £10.15 | 0 |
| Total cost to the employer | £83.68 | £50 |
To use the trivial benefits allowance, the gift can’t be performed based on or contractually obliged, given in cash or paid through payroll. If gifting over £50, then the value of the whole gift is taxable. For this reason, Love2Shop vouchers of £50 can make a great annual reward to everyone who makes your business what it is.
Conclusion
You shouldn’t have much trouble finding where to spend love to-shop cards, vouchers or e-balances. It is hard to make lists of where to find places to spend love2shop gift cards, as the number of retailers occasionally expands to add more to the list – and it’s already an extensive one. The most recent significant expansion occurred in October 2023, when 2,600 additional stores across 21 retail groups, including One Stop and Scotmid Co-op, joined through PayPoint.
We hope this guide has cleared up how to use love2shop gift cards efficiently.
FAQ – How many retailers allow gift vouchers to be redeemed online?
Approximately 140+ retailers support online purchases using Love2Shop cards, such as Argos, Schuh, Edinburgh Woollen Mill, and Virgin Experience Days. This online redemption capability extends to the Love2Shop Contactless and e-Gift Cards, usable in-app via smartphone.
FAQ – Can businesses use love2shop gift cards as a customer/client incentive?
Love To Shop vouchers for businesses are the perfect solution for those seeking to establish customer loyalty programs – a great way to build relationships and encourage repeat business.
You can use the vouchers to reward big orders and incentivise a return for that very reason, or to simply offer a discount on future purchases, etc.
FAQ – What does “payment method FR flag” mean on Love2Shop?
This is a common question that is asked about Love2shop gift cards. It is a flag that shows up when redeeming love2shop gift cards online and is used to mark where to spend this specific love2shop gift card by region.
In this case, “payment method fr flag” refers to the fact that the love2shop gift card is redeemable only in France. Similar to this, there is also a “payment method au flag”, “payment method us flag”, “payment method gb flag” and more.
When you buy love2shop gift cards that are to be redeemed online, make sure that you know which region the gift card is reserved for.
