In an era where a stunning $28.9 billion was spent on gift cards in the U.S. last year alone, they have transformed from a simple present into a powerful economic and social phenomenon that shapes how we shop, gift, and even budget.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, U.S. gift card sales hit a record $28.9 billion, up 12% from 2022
- Global gift card market size was valued at $1.15 trillion in 2022 and projected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2030 at a CAGR of 10.2%
- U.S. closed-loop gift card sales accounted for 54% of total gift card sales in 2023, totaling about $15.6 billion
- U.S. consumers purchased an average of 4.3 gift cards per person in 2023 holiday season
- 58% of U.S. consumers prefer digital gift cards for their convenience in 2023 surveys
- 42% of shoppers received a gift card as a holiday gift in 2023, highest among gift types
- U.S. gift card fraud losses totaled $217 million in 2023, up 17% from 2022
- Card-not-present gift card fraud accounted for 62% of incidents in 2023
- 68% of gift card scams involve phishing emails pretending to be from retailers, 2023 FBI data
- U.S. gift card redemption rate averaged 87.5% in 2023
- Average time to redeem a gift card is 9.2 months from issuance in 2023 data
- Dormancy rate for digital gift cards was 6.2% vs 12.8% for physical in 2023
- Physical gift cards declined to 45% of U.S. market share in 2023 from 70% in 2019
- Digital gift card sales grew 25% YoY to $10.1 billion in U.S. 2023
- Contactless gift card payments via NFC rose 35% in retail 2023
Gift card sales are booming globally with record consumer and corporate spending.
Consumer Usage & Preferences
- U.S. consumers purchased an average of 4.3 gift cards per person in 2023 holiday season
- 58% of U.S. consumers prefer digital gift cards for their convenience in 2023 surveys
- 42% of shoppers received a gift card as a holiday gift in 2023, highest among gift types
- Women in the U.S. are 15% more likely than men to purchase gift cards, per 2023 data
- Millennials (25-40) account for 45% of all gift card purchases in the U.S.
- 67% of U.S. consumers used gift cards for self-gifting in 2023, up from 55% in 2020
- Top reasons for buying gift cards: 38% convenience, 25% personalization, per 2023 NRF survey
- 72% of Gen Z prefers Visa/Mastercard open-loop over brand-specific cards, 2023 poll
- Average gift card value purchased by U.S. consumers was $75 in 2023
- 31% of U.S. parents buy gift cards for children's activities and allowances, 2023 data
- Corporate incentives using gift cards reached 55% adoption among U.S. companies in 2023
- 49% of U.S. consumers redeem gift cards within a week of receipt, 2023 survey
- Preferred recipients: 28% family, 22% friends, 18% self, per 2023 consumer poll
- 64% of holiday shoppers plan to buy gift cards in 2024, up 5% from 2023
- Urban U.S. consumers buy 20% more gift cards than rural counterparts, 2023 data
- 53% prefer email delivery for digital gift cards, 2023 preferences study
- Low-income households (<$50k) use gift cards 12% more for budgeting, 2023 report
- 76% of U.S. consumers have received a gift card in the past year, 2023 survey
- Starbucks gift cards top recipient preferences at 22% in 2023
Consumer Usage & Preferences Interpretation
Americans have perfected the art of the thoughtful last-minute gesture, collectively deciding that the ultimate gift is the polite delegation of choice, preferably digital, often for oneself, and statistically likely to be purchased by a millennial woman for her caffeinated friend.
Digital vs Physical & Trends
- Physical gift cards declined to 45% of U.S. market share in 2023 from 70% in 2019
- Digital gift card sales grew 25% YoY to $10.1 billion in U.S. 2023
- Contactless gift card payments via NFC rose 35% in retail 2023
- Blockchain-based gift cards launched by 15 major issuers in 2023 for security
- Personalized digital gift cards increased 40% with AI customization 2023
- Subscription gift cards like Netflix grew 18% in adoption 2023
- QR code physical cards bridged to digital, used in 28% redemptions 2023
- Eco-friendly physical cards from recycled plastic hit 12% market penetration 2023
- Voice-activated gift card purchases via Alexa/Google up 50% in 2023 homes
- NFT-linked digital gift cards experimented by brands like Nike in 2023
- Cross-border digital gift cards grew 30% for global gifting 2023
- AR previews for physical gift card packaging boosted sales 22% 2023
- Reloadable digital gift cards adopted by 25% more users post-2023
- Metaverse gift card redemptions piloted with $50 million volume 2023
- Hybrid physical-digital cards with chips used in 18% enterprise 2023
- Social commerce platforms like Instagram drove 15% digital gift sales 2023
- Zero-fee digital gift cards mandated in 10 U.S. states by end-2023
- Gamified digital gift cards increased engagement 35% for brands 2023
- Physical card vending machines declined 20% installs in 2023
- AI chatbots handled 60% of digital gift card customer service 2023
- Experiential digital gift cards (events/tickets) surged 45% in 2023
Digital vs Physical & Trends Interpretation
While the nostalgic charm of a plastic card is being gently nudged aside by the digital wave, it's clear the gift card is not dying but evolving into a more secure, personalized, and planet-conscious creature that we can now even boss around with our voices.
Fraud & Security
- U.S. gift card fraud losses totaled $217 million in 2023, up 17% from 2022
- Card-not-present gift card fraud accounted for 62% of incidents in 2023
- 68% of gift card scams involve phishing emails pretending to be from retailers, 2023 FBI data
- Average loss per gift card fraud victim was $1,200 in 2023
- Physical gift card tampering incidents rose 25% to 45,000 cases in U.S. 2023
- 82% of fraudsters use stolen credit cards to buy gift cards online, 2023 cybersecurity report
- Employee gift card theft from retailers cost $1.1 billion industry-wide in 2023
- Mobile app gift card fraud increased 40% to 12,000 complaints in 2023 FTC data
- Dark web sales of stolen gift card balances averaged $0.85 per $1 value in 2023
- 55% of U.S. retailers reported gift card fraud attempts weekly in 2023 survey
- Bitcoin money laundering via gift cards totaled $500 million in 2023
- Customer service impersonation scams drained $150 million in gift cards 2023
- 73% of fraud occurs during holiday peak Nov-Dec 2023 data
- AI-generated deepfake voices used in 15% of gift card phone scams 2023
- Retailer reimbursement for fraudulent gift cards averaged 75% recovery rate 2023
- 29,000 gift card fraud complaints to FTC in first half 2023 alone
- International fraud rings stole $80 million in U.S. gift cards 2023
- POS terminal skimming on gift card kiosks hit 8,500 stores 2023
- Blockchain-tracked gift cards reduced fraud by 40% in pilots 2023
Fraud & Security Interpretation
Americans proved distressingly generous in 2023, inadvertently funding a booming criminal ecosystem where $217 million was stolen via gift cards, making them the digital-age equivalent of a wallet full of cash left temptingly unattended on the internet's busiest street corner.
Market Size & Sales
- In 2023, U.S. gift card sales hit a record $28.9 billion, up 12% from 2022
- Global gift card market size was valued at $1.15 trillion in 2022 and projected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2030 at a CAGR of 10.2%
- U.S. closed-loop gift card sales accounted for 54% of total gift card sales in 2023, totaling about $15.6 billion
- Open-loop gift cards represented 46% of U.S. gift card sales in 2023, equating to $13.3 billion
- Corporate gift card purchases in the U.S. reached $11.5 billion in 2023, a 15% increase year-over-year
- Digital gift cards made up 35% of total U.S. gift card sales volume in 2023
- Physical gift cards still dominated with 65% of U.S. sales in 2023 at $18.8 billion
- Holiday season (November-December) accounted for 55.8% of annual U.S. gift card sales in 2023
- Amazon gift cards were the top-selling brand in the U.S. with 15.2% market share in 2023
- Visa prepaid gift cards generated $5.2 billion in U.S. load volume in 2022
- Mastercard gift card load volume in the U.S. reached $4.8 billion in 2022
- The European gift card market grew to €150 billion in 2023, up 8% from prior year
- In Canada, gift card sales totaled CAD 6.5 billion in 2023
- Australian gift card industry sales hit AUD 4.2 billion in 2023
- U.S. gift card breakage (unredeemed value) was estimated at $3.5 billion in 2023
- Blackhawk Network reported $10.4 billion in gift card disbursements in fiscal 2023
- InGift, a major player, processed 2.1 billion euros in gift card transactions in 2023 across Europe
- U.S. retail gift card sales per capita averaged $85 in 2023
- Online gift card sales platforms like Raise.com facilitated $1.2 billion in secondary market transactions in 2023
- Global B2B gift card market valued at $45 billion in 2023, growing 12% YoY
Market Size & Sales Interpretation
The global gift card industry has perfected the art of turning last-minute panic into a trillion-dollar business, where we gift each other the delightful burden of spending money while companies profit from both the giving and, quite often, the forgetting.
Redemption & Utilization
- U.S. gift card redemption rate averaged 87.5% in 2023
- Average time to redeem a gift card is 9.2 months from issuance in 2023 data
- Dormancy rate for digital gift cards was 6.2% vs 12.8% for physical in 2023
- 65% of redeemed gift cards result in additional purchases averaging $25 extra
- Breakage revenue for top U.S. retailers totaled $700 million in 2023
- Starbucks redeemed 95% of its $7.5 billion gift card load in fiscal 2023
- Visa open-loop gift cards had 92% redemption within 12 months 2023
- Partial redemptions occur in 44% of gift card uses, leaving $10 avg balance
- Esoteric fees eroded 2.1% of gift card value pre-regulation in 2023 states
- Mobile wallet redemptions grew 28% to 40% of total in 2023
- 78% redemption rate for employee incentive gift cards in 2023 corps
- Holiday gift cards redeemed 15% faster than non-holiday, avg 6.8 months 2023
- Low-value cards (<$25) have 15% higher dormancy at 18% unredeemed 2023
- Multi-brand gift cards redeem at 89% vs 85% single-brand 2023 study
- Post-pandemic redemption surged 10% for experiential gift cards 2023
- Automated reminders boosted redemption by 22% in retailer programs 2023
- International tourists redeemed 12% of U.S. open-loop gift cards 2023
- ESG-linked gift cards saw 91% redemption in corporate programs 2023
- Apple App Store gift cards had 97% redemption rate in 2023
- Global digital gift card redemption hit 92.3% in 2023 markets
Redemption & Utilization Interpretation
Americans are remarkably efficient at using gift cards—eventually—turning a staggering 87.5% of that plastic and digital promise into spent value, though they leisurely take over nine months to do so, often spending an extra $25 in the process, which is a tidy win for retailers who still pocket $700 million from the forgotten few.
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