Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027/ --- description: InComm's quarterly research for 2022 shows rising closed-loop purchases, stronger big-box store preference and more use of cards for money management. title: InComm's 2022 gift card review finds stronger store preference and self-use image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-self-use-102d7ab50363efd4a68df1ea0371ebe3.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) 3. InComm's 2022 gift card review finds stronger store preference and self-use [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News # InComm's 2022 gift card review finds stronger store preference and self-use InComm's quarterly research for 2022 shows rising closed-loop purchases, stronger big-box store preference and more use of cards for money management. By [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) Published: April 4, 2023 at 02:00 PM 2 min read Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=InComm's%202022%20gift%20card%20review%20finds%20stronger%20store%20preference%20and%20self-use "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=InComm's%202022%20gift%20card%20review%20finds%20stronger%20store%20preference%20and%20self-use%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![InComm's 2022 gift card review finds stronger store preference and self-use](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-self-use-w363.webp) Photo: Source: incomm.com [InComm Payments](https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/)' 2022 gift card review found stronger preference for buying in physical big-box stores and greater use of cards for money management. Published in April 2023, the report combines the company's quarterly consumer surveys for 2022 and compares them with the previous year. The average number of closed-loop cards purchased increased 20%, while the number of closed-loop shoppers who also bought an open-loop card increased 125%. Some 43% of shoppers who purchased an open-loop card did so at least monthly. These changes are reported as year-over-year percentages, not percentage-point movements. Big-box stores became the most preferred purchase destination for both types, ending a two-year period when online was the preferred channel for closed-loop cards. Pharmacy grew in popularity while grocery declined in the reported channel comparison. When shoppers could not immediately find the card they wanted, they were 9% less likely to look for it online, 30% more likely to ask an employee and 23% more likely to try another retailer than in the previous year. InComm linked those results with the importance of organised displays and stock availability. Deals and promotions motivated 20% of open-loop shoppers and 15% of closed-loop shoppers. Email and in-store displays were the leading preferred ways to hear about those offers, according to the report. Closed-loop cards were more often intended as gifts in 2022, with 62% bought for others. At the same time, the use of closed-loop cards for money management increased 24% year over year. Digital content, grocery, gaming and online retail cards were among categories more often bought for self-use than for gifting. For open-loop cards, use for money management increased 17%, while use as a banking alternative increased 25%. The self-use consumers discussed in that section bought an average of nine open-loop cards per quarter. The findings describe behaviour in 2022\. InComm presents them as input for merchants' assortment, displays and promotions, rather than as a forecast of the following year's card sales. ## Sources and documents ExpandCollapse * [2022 Gift Card Year in Review](https://www.incomm.com/insights/gift-card-year-in-review/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — incomm.com ## In this article ### Companies * [InComm Payments](https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=InComm's%202022%20gift%20card%20review%20finds%20stronger%20store%20preference%20and%20self-use "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=InComm's%202022%20gift%20card%20review%20finds%20stronger%20store%20preference%20and%20self-use%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-review-finds-stronger-store-preference-and-self-2643a9bea027%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/suzie-elis-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Suzie Elis](https://giftcard.news/author/suzie-elis/) Journalist — Gift Cards & Digital Gifting Suzie Elis covers gift card products, digital gifting and distribution for Gift Card News. 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