Blackhawk Network’s new U.S. study puts exploration ahead of implementation in agentic gift-card commerce. While 23% of surveyed business leaders said they were building or piloting, 47% were still exploring what the technology could mean for their programs. [S2]
The study landing is dated October 14, 2026. BHN’s announcement carries the same header date but an October 19 dateline, also used by its wire release. The findings come from an online survey conducted in April-June, with 694 respondents overall. [S1][S2][S3]
Exploration accounts for most reported preparation
BHN respondents’ reported preparation for agentic commerce
Reported preparation among U.S. incentives, commerce and branded-payments respondents surveyed in April-June 2026.
% of respondents to this question
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
BHN-sponsored online research. Total study sample 694, including BHN partners; this question’s response base, recruitment and weighting are not disclosed. Building and piloting are combined. These answers do not measure live deployments, consumer use or completed gift-card purchases.
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| Category | Reported respondents |
|---|---|
| Building or piloting | 23 % of respondents to this question |
| Actively exploring | 47 % of respondents to this question |
| Aware, no action | 22 % of respondents to this question |
| Not thinking about it | 8 % of respondents to this question |
BHN combines the first two categories in its seven-in-ten preparation headline. That grouping spans materially different stages: investigating an opportunity does not establish an operating service, and the combined building-or-piloting answer does not reveal how many respondents have launched one. The remaining reported categories were awareness without action, at 22%, and no consideration yet, at 8%. [S2]
The respondents were U.S. business buyers and partners, including people responsible for incentives and commerce. BHN says individual questions may have different response bases. The overall sample therefore cannot safely be converted into headcounts for each percentage, and these results cannot describe consumers’ willingness to authorize an AI purchase. [S1]
A proposed distribution channel, with outcomes still open
Selected expectations for AI-assisted gift-card buying by 2030
BHN’s reported shares for three ways respondents expect AI to affect the gift-card buying journey by 2030.
% of respondents to this question
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
Business expectations, not measured future outcomes or current consumer behavior. Overall study sample 694; per-question base and complete questionnaire unavailable in accessed materials. The three published values total 98%; they are preserved without inventing a remainder or renormalizing them.
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| Category | Reported respondents |
|---|---|
| Concierge selects value and sends | 42 % of respondents to this question |
| Personalized card recommendations | 32 % of respondents to this question |
| Purchase for preapproved occasions | 24 % of respondents to this question |
The largest reported expectation was a concierge that chooses a card and its value and sends it without a visit to the retailer’s site or app. Other answers concerned personalized recommendations and buying for occasions approved in advance. These describe possible customer journeys by 2030, rather than a new capability BHN has demonstrated in this announcement. [S2]
BHN supplies gift-card issuance, distribution and rewards technology, so an additional route between buyers and brands would concern its existing business. For a merchant, the commercial issue is whether its card can be found and selected when an intermediary handles the shopping. The study does not establish which supplier would process such purchases or how much additional value they would generate. [S2]
The disclosed research offers a view of business expectations within the sponsor’s audience. It provides no observed agent transaction volume or controlled sales comparison. The full ebook is behind a business-contact form; the public material does not disclose recruitment, weighting or uncertainty estimates. Those limits matter when assessing how far the proposed buying journey has progressed. [S1][S2]
Related reporting: BHN and NAPCO’s separate retailer gift-card benchmark examines observed features, using a different sample and methodology.
In this article
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News.