U.S. consumers purchased an average of 4.3 gift cards per person during the holiday season. Total sales reached 28.9 billion dollars. The figures track redemption rates, digital growth, and annual fraud losses.
Key Takeaways
- U.S. consumers purchased an average of 4.3 gift cards per person in 2023 holiday season
- Physical gift cards declined to 45% of U.S. market share in 2023 from 70% in 2019
- U.S. gift card fraud losses totaled $217 million in 2023, up 17% from 2022
- In 2023, U.S. gift card sales hit a record $28.9 billion, up 12% from 2022
- U.S. gift card redemption rate averaged 87.5% in 2023
Gift cards remain a popular way to spend flexibly, with growing adoption across households and businesses.
Related reading
01 · Category
Consumer Usage & Preferences19 stats
01
U.S. consumers purchased an average of 4.3 gift cards per person in 2023 holiday season
02
58% of U.S. consumers prefer digital gift cards for their convenience in 2023 surveys
03
42% of shoppers received a gift card as a holiday gift in 2023, highest among gift types
04
Women in the U.S. are 15% more likely than men to purchase gift cards, per 2023 data
05
Millennials (25-40) account for 45% of all gift card purchases in the U.S.
06
67% of U.S. consumers used gift cards for self-gifting in 2023, up from 55% in 2020
07
Top reasons for buying gift cards: 38% convenience, 25% personalization, per 2023 NRF survey
08
72% of Gen Z prefers Visa/Mastercard open-loop over brand-specific cards, 2023 poll
09
Average gift card value purchased by U.S. consumers was $75in 2023
10
31% of U.S. parents buy gift cards for children's activities and allowances, 2023 data
11
Corporate incentives using gift cards reached 55% adoption among U.S. companies in 2023
12
49% of U.S. consumers redeem gift cards within a week of receipt, 2023 survey
13
Preferred recipients: 28% family, 22% friends, 18% self, per 2023 consumer poll
14
64% of holiday shoppers plan to buy gift cards in 2024, up 5% from 2023
15
Urban U.S. consumers buy 20% more gift cards than rural counterparts, 2023 data
16
53% prefer email delivery for digital gift cards, 2023 preferences study
17
Low-income households (<$50k) use gift cards 12% more for budgeting, 2023 report
18
76% of U.S. consumers have received a gift card in the past year, 2023 survey
19
Starbucks gift cards top recipient preferences at 22% in 2023
Interpretation
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.
02 · Category
Digital vs Physical & Trends21 stats
01
Physical gift cards declined to 45% of U.S. market share in 2023 from 70% in 2019
02
Digital gift card sales grew 25% YoY to $10.1 billion in U.S. 2023
03
Contactless gift card payments via NFC rose 35% in retail 2023
04
Blockchain-based gift cards launched by 15 major issuers in 2023 for security
05
Personalized digital gift cards increased 40% with AI customization 2023
06
Subscription gift cards like Netflix grew 18% in adoption 2023
07
QR code physical cards bridged to digital, used in 28% redemptions 2023
08
Eco-friendly physical cards from recycled plastic hit 12% market penetration 2023
09
Voice-activated gift card purchases via Alexa/Google up 50% in 2023 homes
10
NFT-linked digital gift cards experimented by brands like Nike in 2023
11
Cross-border digital gift cards grew 30% for global gifting 2023
12
AR previews for physical gift card packaging boosted sales 22% 2023
13
Reloadable digital gift cards adopted by 25% more users post-2023
14
Metaverse gift card redemptions piloted with $50 million volume 2023
15
Hybrid physical-digital cards with chips used in 18% enterprise 2023
16
Social commerce platforms like Instagram drove 15% digital gift sales 2023
17
Zero-fee digital gift cards mandated in 10 U.S. states by end-2023
18
Gamified digital gift cards increased engagement 35% for brands 2023
19
Physical card vending machines declined 20% installs in 2023
20
AI chatbots handled 60% of digital gift card customer service 2023
21
Experiential digital gift cards (events/tickets) surged 45% in 2023
Interpretation
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.
03 · Category
Fraud & Security19 stats
01
U.S. gift card fraud losses totaled $217 million in 2023, up 17% from 2022
02
Card-not-present gift card fraud accounted for 62% of incidents in 2023
03
68% of gift card scams involve phishing emails pretending to be from retailers, 2023 FBI data
04
Average loss per gift card fraud victim was $1,200in 2023
05
Physical gift card tampering incidents rose 25% to 45,000 cases in U.S. 2023
06
82% of fraudsters use stolen credit cards to buy gift cards online, 2023 cybersecurity report
07
Employee gift card theft from retailers cost $1.1 billion industry-wide in 2023
08
Mobile app gift card fraud increased 40% to 12,000 complaints in 2023 FTC data
09
Dark web sales of stolen gift card balances averaged $0.85per $1 value in 2023
10
55% of U.S. retailers reported gift card fraud attempts weekly in 2023 survey
11
Bitcoin money laundering via gift cards totaled $500 million in 2023
12
Customer service impersonation scams drained $150 million in gift cards 2023
13
73% of fraud occurs during holiday peak Nov-Dec 2023 data
14
AI-generated deepfake voices used in 15% of gift card phone scams 2023
15
Retailer reimbursement for fraudulent gift cards averaged 75% recovery rate 2023
16
29,000 gift card fraud complaints to FTC in first half 2023 alone
17
International fraud rings stole $80 million in U.S. gift cards 2023
18
POS terminal skimming on gift card kiosks hit 8,500 stores 2023
19
Blockchain-tracked gift cards reduced fraud by 40% in pilots 2023
Interpretation
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.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Size & Sales20 stats
01
In 2023, U.S. gift card sales hit a record $28.9 billion, up 12% from 2022
02
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%
03
U.S. closed-loop gift card sales accounted for 54% of total gift card sales in 2023, totaling about $15.6 billion
04
Open-loop gift cards represented 46% of U.S. gift card sales in 2023, equating to $13.3 billion
05
Corporate gift card purchases in the U.S. reached $11.5 billion in 2023, a 15% increase year-over-year
06
Digital gift cards made up 35% of total U.S. gift card sales volume in 2023
07
Physical gift cards still dominated with 65% of U.S. sales in 2023 at $18.8 billion
08
Holiday season (November-December) accounted for 55.8% of annual U.S. gift card sales in 2023
09
Amazon gift cards were the top-selling brand in the U.S. with 15.2% market share in 2023
10
Visa prepaid gift cards generated $5.2 billion in U.S. load volume in 2022
11
Mastercard gift card load volume in the U.S. reached $4.8 billion in 2022
12
The European gift card market grew to €150 billion in 2023, up 8% from prior year
13
In Canada, gift card sales totaled CAD 6.5 billion in 2023
14
Australian gift card industry sales hit AUD 4.2 billion in 2023
15
U.S. gift card breakage (unredeemed value) was estimated at $3.5 billion in 2023
16
Blackhawk Network reported $10.4 billion in gift card disbursements in fiscal 2023
17
InGift, a major player, processed 2.1 billion euros in gift card transactions in 2023 across Europe
18
U.S. retail gift card sales per capita averaged $85in 2023
19
Online gift card sales platforms like Raise.com facilitated $1.2 billion in secondary market transactions in 2023
20
Global B2B gift card market valued at $45 billion in 2023, growing 12% YoY
Interpretation
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.
05 · Category
Redemption & Utilization20 stats
01
U.S. gift card redemption rate averaged 87.5% in 2023
02
Average time to redeem a gift card is 9.2 months from issuance in 2023 data
03
Dormancy rate for digital gift cards was 6.2% vs 12.8% for physical in 2023
04
65% of redeemed gift cards result in additional purchases averaging $25 extra
05
Breakage revenue for top U.S. retailers totaled $700 million in 2023
06
Starbucks redeemed 95% of its $7.5 billion gift card load in fiscal 2023
07
Visa open-loop gift cards had 92% redemption within 12 months 2023
08
Partial redemptions occur in 44% of gift card uses, leaving $10 avg balance
09
Esoteric fees eroded 2.1% of gift card value pre-regulation in 2023 states
10
Mobile wallet redemptions grew 28% to 40% of total in 2023
11
78% redemption rate for employee incentive gift cards in 2023 corps
12
Holiday gift cards redeemed 15% faster than non-holiday, avg 6.8 months 2023
13
Low-value cards (<$25) have 15% higher dormancy at 18% unredeemed 2023
14
Multi-brand gift cards redeem at 89% vs 85% single-brand 2023 study
15
Post-pandemic redemption surged 10% for experiential gift cards 2023
16
Automated reminders boosted redemption by 22% in retailer programs 2023
17
International tourists redeemed 12% of U.S. open-loop gift cards 2023
18
ESG-linked gift cards saw 91% redemption in corporate programs 2023
19
Apple App Store gift cards had 97% redemption rate in 2023
20
Global digital gift card redemption hit 92.3% in 2023 markets
Interpretation
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.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Felix Zimmermann. (2026, February 13). Gift Card Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gift-card-statistics
MLA
Felix Zimmermann. "Gift Card Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/gift-card-statistics.
Chicago
Felix Zimmermann. 2026. "Gift Card Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/gift-card-statistics.
Sources & references
48 datasets cited across this report