InComm Payments examined travel-related gift card buying ahead of the 2023 summer season, connecting the products with trip spending and budgeting. Its research covered both branded travel cards and open-loop cards used for purchases such as fuel and meals.
The company reported an average of 17.6 travel and leisure gift cards purchased per person over the nine-month period from July 2022 through March 2023 in the study discussed. Examples included airline, cruise and outdoor or sports-related cards. The period is nine months, rather than a quarterly average.
InComm also said money management was the second most common reason for buying gift cards for self-use. Its cited 2021–2022 research showed a 23.5% year-over-year increase in using closed-loop cards for that purpose.
The guide describes allocating a set amount to a retailer or spending category as one way a traveller might organise costs. The value available on the card defines the amount that can be spent from it, while the product determines the participating merchants.
As separate background, the US Travel Association and Ipsos reported in their second-quarter 2023 survey that 53% of all Americans and 81% of leisure travellers had travel planned in the following six months. The 81% figure describes people within the leisure-traveller group, not the share of planned trips that were for leisure. Some 26% of US adults expected to increase household leisure-travel spending in the next three months, compared with 19% in the first-quarter survey. These travel intentions do not measure gift-card purchases.
US adults expecting higher leisure-travel spending
Share expecting household spending on leisure travel to increase over the next three months, in two 2023 Ipsos / US Travel survey waves.
%
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Sources
Probability-based KnowledgePanel surveys of US adults aged 18+: Q1 n=1,189, January 13–22; Q2 n=1,372, March 30–April 7. Prospective spending intentions, not realised travel revenue, gift-card sales or a measured effect of using gift cards.
Show data tableHide data table
| Category | Expect spending to increase |
|---|---|
| Q1 2023 survey | 19% |
| Q2 2023 survey | 26% |
For retailers, InComm recommended planning the gift card display and stocking travel-relevant brands before the seasonal demand. The article combines consumer travel intentions with gift card purchasing data from explicitly different periods.
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Suzie Elis
Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News.