Diggecard is recommending that retailers offer digital gift cards alongside physical cards to address different customer preferences. Its May 12, 2022 guide cites GlobalData tracking in which an average 27.5% of gift card buyers in 2021 had moved to digital cards.

For the digital experience, the company highlights online ordering, personal messages or images and scheduled delivery. Those features allow the buyer to select how and when the recipient receives the gift.

Diggecard also presents gift cards as a route to new customers and spending beyond the stored value. It quotes an 18% conversion to loyal customers and average additional spending equivalent to 67% of card value, without providing the measurement methodology for those figures in the article.

Electronic delivery avoids producing and mailing a physical card, while still allowing brand identity in the presentation. The company identifies that as an operational and materials benefit of digital distribution.

The guide nevertheless stresses continued physical demand. It cites the GCVA’s 2022 State of the Nation report: 47.4% of gift card buyers bought physical cards in-store in 2021, and 40.8% of consumers expected cross-channel functionality in future.

Diggecard’s recommendation is therefore a combined program. The historical research figures describe 2021 behavior and expectations, rather than the current market share of digital cards.