Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans/ --- description: InComm reports gift cards lead 2026 U.S. holiday purchase intentions. Original figures for card types and physical/digital counts, with survey limits. title: InComm 2026 holiday survey: U.S. gift-card purchase plans image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/incomm-s-holiday-survey-puts-gift-cards-first-u-purchase-plans-20b9b22e98fdd89ffb5dbd13c61eae95.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) # InComm’s holiday survey puts gift cards first in U.S. purchase plans InComm’s September survey places gift cards ahead of apparel and toys in U.S. holiday plans, with both physical and digital formats represented. By [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/) October 21, 2026 5 min read [ Google News ](https://google.com/preferences/source?q=giftcard.news&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=InComm%E2%80%99s+holiday+survey+puts+gift+cards+first+in+U.S.+purchase+plans&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=InComm%E2%80%99s+holiday+survey+puts+gift+cards+first+in+U.S.+purchase+plans+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Illustrative tablet on a wooden desk showing InComm Payments’s 2026 Annual Holiday Research Report beside a keyboard, notebooks and coffee.](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/incomm-s-holiday-survey-puts-gift-cards-first-u-purchase-plans-illustrative-w1200.webp) Publisher-supplied illustration of the 2026 report on a tablet. This is a staged report mock-up, rather than a photograph of survey fieldwork or a gift-card purchase. Photo: InComm Payments Gift cards lead the holiday shopping list in [InComm Payments](https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/)’s new U.S. survey: 60% of shoppers said they expected to buy them, ahead of apparel at 51% and toys at 41%. The findings describe plans for the 2026 season, before the purchases and redemptions that would establish actual demand. [\[S1\]](#article-source-1)[\[S2\]](#article-source-2) Published on October 21, the report draws on 2,469 consumers surveyed in September. It offers card issuers and distributors a view of intended assortments and delivery formats, while leaving important details about individual question bases undisclosed. [\[S1\]](#article-source-1)[\[S2\]](#article-source-2) ## Gift cards lead the reported gift categories The data behind the story ### Intended holiday purchases in three gift categories The three leading categories disclosed in the original report. Reported purchase intention reported % of holiday shoppers Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table. Source InComm Payments 2026 Holiday Report U.S. survey conducted in September 2026 for the 2026 holiday season; 2,469 consumers in the full study. Recruitment, survey mode, exact fieldwork days, item-level bases and uncertainty are not disclosed. The publisher says respondents balance to AC24 Census data without detailing the procedure. Stated intentions, not completed purchases, spending shares or a sales forecast. Category choices overlap and must not be added. The exact base for this question is not published. Source: report page 4. Show data tableHide data table Scroll left or right to see all columns __Intended holiday purchases in three gift categories (reported % of holiday shoppers)__ | Category | Reported purchase intention | | ---------- | --------------------------------- | | Gift cards | 60 reported % of holiday shoppers | | Apparel | 51 reported % of holiday shoppers | | Toys | 41 reported % of holiday shoppers | The survey’s leading categories combine choice for the recipient with familiar retail purchases. A gift card commits value to a brand or redemption network while leaving the specific item to be chosen later. That gives a card distributor a different merchandising task from a retailer selling one particular product: the available brands, formats and denominations become part of the offer. InComm supplies physical and digital gift cards and supports brand distribution and retail programs. Its research therefore comes from a commercial participant with an interest in the category. The reported lead for gift cards is a result within its survey, rather than independently measured holiday sales or proof that a particular program will gain revenue. [\[S3\]](#article-source-3) The methodology says respondents balance to “AC24 Census data” and that only adults were surveyed. It does not disclose recruitment, survey mode, exact fieldwork dates, item-level sample sizes or uncertainty estimates. Those omissions limit population-wide conclusions and close comparisons between percentages. [\[S2\]](#article-source-2) ## Purchase plans span several card types Your free reader account ## Continue reading for free. Create your account or sign in to get unlimited access. Continue with LinkedIn Continue with Google Continue with Facebook No payment required. Newsletter signup is optional. [Already registered? Sign in](https://giftcard.news/login/?returnTo=%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F) ## In this article ### Companies * [American Express](https://giftcard.news/company/american-express/) * [InComm Payments](https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/) * [Mastercard](https://giftcard.news/company/mastercard/) * [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/) ### Sources and documents * [\[S1\] Original dated 2026 holiday report announcement](https://www.incomm.com/insights/2026-holiday-report/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — InComm Payments * [\[S2\] Full 2026 Holiday Report, figures and methodology, pages 4, 12, 14 and 24](https://www.incomm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/2026%5FInComm-Payments%5FHoliday-Research-Report.pdf?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — InComm Payments * [\[S3\] Gift-card business, physical and digital distribution](https://www.incomm.com/gift-cards/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news) — InComm Payments Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=InComm%E2%80%99s+holiday+survey+puts+gift+cards+first+in+U.S.+purchase+plans&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=InComm%E2%80%99s+holiday+survey+puts+gift+cards+first+in+U.S.+purchase+plans+https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-2026-holiday-gift-card-purchase-plans%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news&utm%5Fcampaign=giftcard.news "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/emma-carter-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/) Journalist — Retail & E-commerce Emma Carter covers retail, e-commerce and the gift card shopping experience for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News ### [Gift cards lead NRF’s 2026 holiday wish list at 47%](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/nrf-2026-holiday-gift-card-wish-list/) [Emma Carter](https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/) October 20, 2026 3 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News ### [iGift’s three-brand index records a lower Roblox discount in week 42](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/igift-week42-2026-gift-card-discount-index/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) October 19, 2026 4 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News ### [Deloitte finds US gift-card purchase plans steady at 54%](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/deloitte-us-gift-card-holiday-intentions-channel-preferences-2026/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) October 15, 2026 3 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsMediaOrganization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","description":"News and analysis covering gift cards, retail, loyalty, rewards and payments worldwide.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/icon-512.png","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/icon-512.png","width":512,"height":512,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#logo"},"publishingPrinciples":"https://giftcard.news/editorial-policy/","correctionsPolicy":"https://giftcard.news/editorial-policy/"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website","url":"https://giftcard.news/","name":"Gift Card News","description":"News and analysis covering gift cards, retail, loyalty, rewards and payments worldwide.","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://giftcard.news/search/?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/#person","name":"Emma Carter","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/emma-carter/","description":"Emma Carter covers retail, e-commerce and the gift card shopping experience for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Retail & E-commerce","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/emma-carter-editorial-portrait.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/emma-carter-editorial-portrait.webp","width":1254,"height":1254,"caption":"Illustrated portrait representing the Emma Carter editorial profile.","@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/emma-carter-editorial-portrait.webp#image","encodingFormat":"image/webp","description":"Illustrated portrait for Emma Carter, a Gift Card News editorial pen name","creditText":"Gift Card News / AI-generated illustration"}},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-holiday-survey-puts-gift-cards-first-u-purchase-plans-illustrative.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-holiday-survey-puts-gift-cards-first-u-purchase-plans-illustrative.webp","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Publisher-supplied illustration of the 2026 report on a tablet. 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