Gift Cards Purchases Up, Value Down

Incentive: Gift Card

Gift Cards Purchases Up, Value Down
May 07, 2009

Americans have been buying more gift card in the past six months, but spending less on them, according to a new report by the Chicago-based National Research Network, a consumer research firm and The Hartman Group, a research and consulting company.

Released in April, the NRN-Hartman Group Gift Card Buying Trends: Shopper Intentions and Purchase Behaviors 2009 found that 57 percent of American consumers say they purchased at least one gift card within the past year, an increase of five percent from October despite the dramatic economic downturn. But those cards had an average value of $46 per gift card, compared with $52 average per gift card between September 2007 and August 2008.

"Surprisingly even with the unfavorable economic conditions almost half"—48 percent—"of gift card recipients spend more than the amount on the gift card," says Keith Maladra, NRN Vice President of Consumer Intelligence. "We found that gift cards are still encouraging personal spending." Only 16 percent of gift card recipients spent less than the full value of the gift cards, he adds.

The three most purchased gift cards are big box retailers, restaurants and department stores. "Gift cards are an important element of how gifting itself is changing," says Michelle Barry, Ph.D., a Senior Vice President at The Hartman Group. "For marketers in retail, restaurant and financial services, the opportunity to make the gift card experience more meaningful—both in giving and receiving—is substantial."

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