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Gift cards used to be a last-minute purchase when consumers were stuck for a last-minute gift, but they’re now a gift selected because it gives the recipient more buying choices and flexibility. The gift card marketplace continues to evolve and we’ve got some research and innovations to share to keep you up-to-date on gift card trends. CEB reported US gift card sales in 2015 totaled more than$129.7 billion, a 6.3% increase over 2014 sales of $122 billion.
A new research report by CashStar showed 91% of consumers were happy with their gift cards. The same report showed digital gift cards were the biggest growing gift card segment up 26% to $7.1 billion in 2015.
According to the Incentive Research Foundation, another big trend in gift cards in 2016 is the increase in luxury gift cards for purchasing electronics (cited by 31% of respondents), open-loop gift cards (28%), luggage (24%), and watches (23%).
Lyft and Starbucks launched a joint gift card promotion each selling the other’s gift cards. C-stores have seen the impact of technology and are experimenting with digital and mobile cards. Swych, Inc launched an innovative digital gift platform and iOS mobile app for US consumers who can use a unique app to send “Swychable” gift cards redeemable at favorite retailers. Research by National Gift Card Corp shows 72% of sales came from three categories: big-box retailers (29%), open loop rewards cards such as Visa and AMEX (23%) and entertainment cards (10%)....
Consumers still love their gift cards, with 2015 sales of $129.7 billion in the US, up 6.3% from 2014.