’Tis Almost the Time of Year for Gift Card Cheer
Here’s a shocker: Gift cards will be a popular item during the holidays and a bright spot for retail sales. New survey stats released Oct. 20 from InComm show that 95 percent of consumers expect to give two or more gift cards this year, a slight increase from last year.
Another slight increase comes from shoppers who plan on giving at least five gift cards, with 67 percent of them planning to do so this year, compared with 54 percent who said they gave five cards last year.
As for the holiday split, Christmas comes in at 87 percent of consumers planning to buy gift cards for the holiday, compared with 10 percent for Halloween. The survey also found that 28 percent of millennials plan to give gift cards for New Year’s.
Consumers spent more than $25 billion on gift cards during the 2015 holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. The association has yet to release its forecast for 2016, but it’s likely that gift cards will top the list for most-requested gift for the 10th consecutive year.
“Gift cards have long been a popular option during the holiday season, and that popularity continues to grow as consumers embrace the advantages of prepaid, and as a greater selection of gift cards becomes more widely available,” said Brian Parlotto, sales and marketing executive vice president at InComm. “By partnering with some of the biggest retailers and most popular brands, we are making sure that gift cards, one of the most popular gift options of the season, continue to be the most convenient and versatile option for busy consumers.”
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