The holiday season is set to drive gift card purchases.
More than one-third of American shoppers bought gift cards in the past 12 months—both for others and themselves, according to survey data published in the new Packaged Facts’ report, “Prepaid and Gift Cards in the U.S., 6th Edition.”
An aggregated $42 billion was spent on gift cards over the past year. Consumers spent $25 billion on gift cards given to others and $14 billion on gift cards given to themselves. Meanwhile, another $3 billion worth of gift cards was given to people by their employers.
Reasons for giving gift cards are as varied as the individual gift card purchasers themselves. What’s more clear are seasons and occasions during which people are most likely to give gift cards. In terms of dollar value, Christmas stands out as the most common occasion and season.
Packaged Facts estimates that Christmas accounts for 35% of gift card spend on others and 21% of total reported gift card value. Mother’s Day is the only other billion-dollar holiday occasion. Among non-holidays, birthdays and gift cards predictably make a perfect pairing, as do gift cards given for graduations and weddings.
