InComm Payments' consumer research indicates that giving gift cards recovered during 2021 after the first pandemic year. Published on April 26, 2022, the analysis compares shopper responses year over year for retailer-specific and network-branded prepaid cards.
For closed-loop cards, the company reported a 14% increase in gifting to extended family following a decline in 2020. Nearly half of respondents said their purchases were always planned and roughly another third said they were mostly planned; only 5% described them as mostly or entirely unplanned.
Knowing the recipient's preferences was important to the choice. InComm said 88% considered knowledge of the person's preferred retailer, restaurant or service very or extremely important. It also reported that 87% felt very or extremely comfortable choosing a card for someone else, rising to 91% when choosing for immediate family.
Respondents giving open-loop cards to others nearly quadrupled compared with 2020, according to the analysis. Almost 40% of parents reported buying network-branded cards for their children, up 63% year over year. Reasons included gifting, allowances and helping manage or limit spending.
Restaurant and dining cards returned to the top of the closed-loop categories after the disruption of 2020. Online and large-format retailers, groceries and home goods rounded out the five categories highlighted.
A separate poll of gift card shoppers aware of cryptocurrencies found that nearly a third had given cryptocurrency as a gift and approximately a quarter had considered it. Those findings describe that particular awareness-qualified audience, rather than all consumers.
The report also says users often spent more than the amount available on the card when redeeming: 39% for closed-loop cards and 43% for open-loop cards. InComm presented the findings as context for retailers planning their gift card ranges and merchandising for shoppers who arrive with a specific recipient in mind.
Reported spending beyond the card’s value
InComm’s 2021 shopper research compares the same reported redemption outcome within each card-type group.
%
Tap or hover for details. All values are also available in the data table.
Source
Self-reported percentages within separate card-type groups. The original does not disclose sample sizes, exact field dates, recruitment geography, survey mode or weights. This does not measure the amount of extra spending or establish that the cards caused it.
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| Category | Reported respondents |
|---|---|
| Closed-loop card users | 39% |
| Open-loop card users | 43% |
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Daniel Brooks
Daniel Brooks covers payment networks, financial technology, payment security, gift card fraud and PCI DSS for Gift Card News.