InComm Payments’ 2024 Holiday Report found that gift card shoppers were planning purchases carefully while retaining demand for several card formats. The report, published on November 20, draws on a September 2024 survey of 2,510 U.S. consumers about their intended holiday shopping.
Economic conditions were a consideration for 58% of respondents, although more than half expected to spend the same amount on gifts as in the previous year. Their proposed responses included looking harder for lower prices, buying for fewer people, reducing the number of gifts and spreading purchases across paychecks.
Planned purchases across gift card types
Nearly 79% of holiday gift card purchases were expected to be planned in advance, and about 13% of gift card shoppers anticipated buying higher denominations than in 2023. The survey describes intentions for the 2024 season.
Among holiday gift card shoppers, 54% anticipated purchasing a closed-loop card for a particular brand or brand group, 47% expected to buy an open-loop card such as Visa, Mastercard or American Express, and 35% planned to buy a multi-brand card. InComm also reported that 81% anticipated buying between two and five closed-loop brands.
The card-type selections are not mutually exclusive: a shopper could plan to buy several formats. InComm did not publish the gift-card-shopper subgroup size, recruitment method, weighting or full questionnaire, so the figures should be read as the sponsor's reported survey intentions.
Gift-card types shoppers planned to buy for the 2024 holidays
September 2024 fieldwork about the 2024 holiday season; published November 20, 2024.
% of gift-card shoppers
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Source
Planned purchases, not realized sales or market shares. Nonexclusive selections; subgroup size and questionnaire undisclosed.
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| Category | % of gift-card shoppers |
|---|---|
| Closed-loop | 54 % of gift-card shoppers |
| Open-loop | 47 % of gift-card shoppers |
| Multi-brand | 35 % of gift-card shoppers |
When respondents were asked what they wanted to receive, open-loop gift cards led the range of choices. The report distinguishes those widely accepted network-branded products from closed-loop cards and multi-brand cards redeemable within a defined selection of businesses.
Physical cards and retail discovery
Physical presentation remained significant: 88% said they preferred giving physical gift cards, while 68% preferred receiving them. More than a quarter expected to give more physical cards than in the previous year. Respondents cited wrapping, in-person presentation and ease of use among their reasons.
These are two role-specific preference questions about the same physical format. The report does not establish whether the respondent bases are identical, so their difference is not a switching rate or a measured change in preference over time.
Physical gift-card preference in giving and receiving roles
September 2024 survey about the 2024 holiday season.
% of respondents
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Source
Separate giving and receiving preference items; exact cell bases undisclosed. Not quantities sold, a temporal trend, a transition rate or proof that the same people changed preferences.
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| Category | % of respondents |
|---|---|
| Prefer giving physical cards | 88 % of respondents |
| Prefer receiving physical cards | 68 % of respondents |
Digital cards also featured in holiday plans, with 52% of holiday shoppers expecting to give the same number as a year earlier. InComm’s discussion links digital delivery with avoiding postal loss and keeping track of gifts.
The preferred ways to hear about gift card promotions included in-store displays, retailer websites or apps, direct email and personalized coupons. For retailers, InComm recommended combining card availability with convenient shopping and visible offers across store and online channels. It also noted that 28% of respondents expected to do at least some shopping on Christmas Eve.
In this article
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed covers industry acquisitions, investment and market research for Gift Card News.