5 Gift Card Trends in the Market Amidst COVID-19

As our way of life is changing day by day, we are seeing a shift in consumer behavior around Gift Card usage. More specifically, many consumers are relying on Gift Cards for self-use to get by. Here are some trends to keep in mind when managing your gift card program.

#1: Increase in Online Purchases

While people are at home practicing social distancing online purchases have become a necessity and have skyrocketed. Individuals who do not have credit cards and/or are hesitant to divulge their credit card information online are stuck looking for alternative solutions.

#2: Relevance to the At Home Entertainment Category

With stay-at-home measures in place for the foreseeable future, the need to keep both kids and adults entertained has increased. Self-use content including Online Gaming, Netflix, Google, and others are positively trending. We have seen an incremental +28% lift among these brands.

#4: Loyalty & Incentives sales driver

During this time, more and more customers are engaging with loyalty & incentives programs to further discount their online purchases. We have experienced an uplift of +48% sales growth in B2B channels.

#5: Retail goes online

Online purchase with gift cards is increasing as consumers look towards major brands such as Ebay and Amazon and others for their gifting needs. Retail categories such as Fashion, that are able to offer E-commerce solutions & home delivery are primed to take advantage of this new landscape.