Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/ --- description: InComm’s review of 2022 surveys charts big-box gift card shopping, rising unplanned purchases and use of open-loop cards for budgeting and everyday spending. title: InComm 2022 Gift Card Study: Retail Channels and Self-Use image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use-e0b42055fab1217028f82ef6d73b3527.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) # InComm’s 2022 Gift Card Study Tracks Retail Store Demand and Self-Use InComm’s review of 2022 surveys charts big-box gift card shopping, rising unplanned purchases and use of open-loop cards for budgeting and everyday spending. By [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) March 14, 2023 2 min read Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=InComm%E2%80%99s%202022%20Gift%20Card%20Study%20Tracks%20Retail%20Store%20Demand%20and%20Self-Use "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=InComm%E2%80%99s%202022%20Gift%20Card%20Study%20Tracks%20Retail%20Store%20Demand%20and%20Self-Use%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![InComm artwork accompanying its 2022 gift card shopper research](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use-w363.webp) Photo: Source: incomm.com [InComm Payments](https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/)’ review of its 2022 gift card surveys found renewed preference for buying cards in physical stores alongside continued use of cards for personal spending. Published on March 14, 2023, the review compares 2022 shopping behavior with the previous year across open-loop and closed-loop products. Big-box stores became the most-preferred channel for both groups, ending the two-year lead held by online shopping for closed-loop cards. Pharmacy gained ground while grocery declined. InComm also found shoppers more willing to ask a store employee for help or try another retailer when a desired card was unavailable. ## Purchases became less consistently planned The share of open-loop purchases described as planned ahead fell from 77% in 2021 to 71% in 2022\. Spontaneous purchases rose from 17% to 21%, while last-minute purchases increased from 6% to 8%. For closed-loop cards, the share of shoppers who said purchases were always planned moved from 52% to 48%. Those reporting that purchases were always unplanned rose from 2% to 4%. InComm connected the findings with the importance of display location and maintaining the card brands shoppers expect to find. Convenience remained the leading purchase factor. Deals still motivated 20% of open-loop shoppers and 15% of closed-loop shoppers, although their reported influence declined from 2021\. Some respondents said they were not finding, or hearing about, the promotions they wanted. ## Gift cards as personal payment tools The study divided open-loop card use almost evenly between self-use, at 51%, and giving to someone else, at 49%. Closed-loop cards were more often bought for other people, accounting for 62%, with 38% intended for the buyer. InComm reported year-over-year growth in the use of cards for managing money: 24% for closed-loop cards and 17% for open-loop cards. Use of open-loop cards as a banking alternative increased 25%. These are changes reported in the survey, rather than shares of all consumers. Open-loop shoppers buying for themselves averaged nine cards per quarter. Their spending categories included online purchases, clothing, groceries, entertainment, gaming and streaming. The research therefore gives retailers and program managers a view of gift card demand extending beyond occasions when the buyer is choosing a present. ## Sources and documents ExpandCollapse * [Gift Card Study 2022: Key Takeaways](https://www.incomm.com/insights/gift-card-study-2022-key-takeaways/?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-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=InComm%E2%80%99s%202022%20Gift%20Card%20Study%20Tracks%20Retail%20Store%20Demand%20and%20Self-Use "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=InComm%E2%80%99s%202022%20Gift%20Card%20Study%20Tracks%20Retail%20Store%20Demand%20and%20Self-Use%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fincomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) Journalist — Industry Deals & Research Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research 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/) Analysis ### [MENA’s Digital Gift Card Markets: A Country-by-Country Research Atlas](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/mena-digital-gift-card-markets/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 18, 2026 66 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [India’s Digital Gift Card Market: Growth, Consumers and Regulation](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/india-digital-gift-card-market/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 18, 2026 30 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [AI Can Shop for You. Can It Spend Your Gift Cards?](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/ai-can-shop-for-you-can-it-spend-your-gift-cards/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 17 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/brand/giftcard-news-logo.svg"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/#person","name":"Oliver Reed","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/","description":"Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Industry Deals & Research","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/oliver-reed-editorial-portrait.webp","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"Illustrated portrait representing the Oliver Reed editorial profile."}},{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp","width":363,"height":248,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp#image"},{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/#article","url":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/","headline":"InComm’s 2022 Gift Card Study Tracks Retail Store Demand and Self-Use","description":"InComm’s review of 2022 surveys charts big-box gift card shopping, rising unplanned purchases and use of open-loop cards for budgeting and everyday spending.","datePublished":"2023-03-14T16:00:55.000Z","dateModified":"2023-03-14T16:00:55.000Z","inLanguage":"en","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/#webpage"},"isPartOf":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website"},"isAccessibleForFree":false,"hasPart":{"@type":"WebPageElement","isAccessibleForFree":false,"cssSelector":".reader-restricted"},"image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp","contentUrl":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp","width":363,"height":248,"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp#image"}],"articleSection":"Research & Trends","keywords":["InComm Payments"],"mentions":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/#entity","name":"InComm Payments","url":"https://giftcard.news/company/incomm-payments/"}],"wordCount":354,"citation":["https://www.incomm.com/insights/gift-card-study-2022-key-takeaways/"],"author":[{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/#person"}],"publisher":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/#webpage","url":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/","name":"InComm’s 2022 Gift Card Study Tracks Retail Store Demand and Self-Use","description":"InComm’s review of 2022 surveys charts big-box gift card shopping, rising unplanned purchases and use of open-loop cards for budgeting and everyday spending.","inLanguage":"en","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/#website"},"mainEntity":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/#article"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/#breadcrumbs"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://giftcard.news/images/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-self-use.webp#image"}},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/#breadcrumbs","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://giftcard.news/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research & Trends","item":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"InComm’s 2022 Gift Card Study Tracks Retail Store Demand and Self-Use","item":"https://giftcard.news/research-trends/incomm-s-2022-gift-card-study-tracks-retail-store-demand-and-self-use-903d0dbaffda/"}]}]} ```