The gift card market at Christmas
Christmas is the peak season for gift cards. Many brands' programs record exceptional sales volumes, confirming the gift card as a preferred choice, always among the top three favorite gifts.
However, it is not spared, like the rest of the e-commerce landscape, from tight budgets, thoughtful purchases, and inflation.
However, an increasing number of consumers are opting to give gift cards to stay within their budget to the last euro, while still making a thoughtful and pleasing choice.
What is the assessment of e-commerce in the United States and the United Kingdom for Christmas 2023?
The average budget for Christmas purchases in 2023 reached $875 in the United States, with a total market of $222.1 billion (+4.9%), and £767 in the United Kingdom on average, with a total market of £84.9 billion (+2.7%), for an average of 7 gifts. This has been good news for e-commerce.
However, anticipation (about 49%, +2 pts vs. 2022) is an increasingly adopted strategy, as well as price comparison (83%), in the face of inflation. The effect of inflation has led to increased anticipation of Christmas shopping. Approximately 43% (+2 pts vs. 2022) of consumers made their purchases before or during the month of November.
Still facing inflation, 74% redirected their purchases to online gifts, marking a significant increase from the previous year (68%). Amazon remains the preferred platform, with 52% of consumers making their purchases there.
The Black Friday and Cyber Monday period was crucial, with 62% of consumers, especially young people (74% of those under 35), taking advantage of this opportunity to make Christmas purchases. In the United States, this represents $940 million in sales, an increase of 42.5%. In the United Kingdom, this represents £3.2 billion (+3.7%).
Finally, all strategies were used to optimize the gift budget: second-hand items, fewer gifts for the same budget, online price comparison, installment payments, etc. In the United States and the United Kingdom, they are particularly fond of 'buy now, pay later' (+14% compared to last year).
And despite anticipation, there are still last-minute shoppers: 65% have already made last-minute Christmas purchases in the past three years, mainly due to a lack of ideas (49%) and lack of time (37%).
What is the assessment of the gift card at Christmas in 2023?
The gift card service for individuals
The gift card continues to be among the favorite gifts this past Christmas. The e-gift card is becoming more widespread with an adoption rate of over 16%.
On average, 38% of gift card sales occur during Christmas, with an average amount of €91. The average amount is lower than that of the year, mainly explained by the number of gifts to be given, resulting in a more diluted budget for each potential recipient.
The e-gift card remains the ideal alternative for last-minute shoppers. 46% of e-gift card sales in December are made in the last week of December. Brands have understood this well, as in the days leading up to Christmas, they intensify marketing campaigns.
Recipients appreciate their cards: in less than 15 days, over 30% have spent their gift cards, with 10% making additional payments averaging €62.
Overall, individuals enjoy giving gift cards that allow them to stick to their budget and receiving them to gain purchasing power on products considered useful.
TOP 3 sectors in terms of business volume:
• High-Tech
• Cosmetics & Perfumery
• Travel & Tourism
Special mentions for the Travel & Tourism sector, and Home & Decoration for their performance on Black Friday.
The gift card service for businesses
On the B2B side, orders from professionals to brands mostly occur between December 1 and 7, representing 41% of December sales. The average order amount is nearly €700 for about a hundred gift cards.
The most appreciated sectors are retail, brands with strong notoriety, and those offering a wide range of different types of products.
Distribution of the gift card at Christmas
Distribution also sees an increase, with an average of €64 per e-gift card, largely fueled by employee incentive programs and end-of-year employee benefits (80% of flows). As with B2C, the average amount of a card is below that of the rest of the year.
Top sectors in terms of business volume:
• Cosmetics & Perfumeries
• Fashion & Accessories
The keys to success for performing during the Christmas period remain working on visibility by creating marketing campaigns within partner distributors. And, of course, diversifying different distribution channels (loyalty programs, cashbacks, marketplaces, etc.)
