InComm Payments reported strong planned gift card demand in its 2025 Holiday Report, while shoppers described economic conditions and prices as factors influencing their decisions.

In an October 28, 2025 discussion of the findings, the company said 62% of consumers expected economic conditions to affect their shopping. It reported that 69% would reconsider gifts in clothing, food or electronics because of tariffs.

Gift cards ranked first among intended holiday gifts in the report. InComm said respondents planned an average of eight physical and four digital cards, with 39% expecting to buy more physical cards than in 2024 and 23% planning more digital cards.

The underlying report surveyed 2,517 US consumers in September 2025. It reports intended average card counts, rather than completed holiday purchases; recruitment, weighting and the precise question base are not disclosed in the public report.

The data behind the story

Planned gift-card counts by format

Mean intended cards per holiday gift giver, reported before the 2025 season.

intended cards per gift giver
Source
InComm 2025 Holiday Report, pages 14 and 22

Self-reported intentions, not completed sales or market shares. The study surveyed 2,517 US consumers in September 2025; precise question bases, recruitment, weighting and count variability are not disclosed.

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Planned gift-card counts by format (intended cards per gift giver)
Categoryintended cards per gift giver
Physical cards8 intended cards per gift giver
Digital cards4 intended cards per gift giver

The company also reported that 61% intended to purchase an open-loop gift card, naming Visa, Mastercard and American Express as examples of payment-network brands. These are stated intentions for the 2025 season, not completed sales.

Promotions and visibility were part of InComm’s advice to merchants. It said 34% of shoppers considered sales and deals when choosing gifts, and recommended coordinating store displays with email, social media and other seasonal communication.

The report described expected holiday gift-card purchasing modes as 76% planned and 17% spontaneous. These were preseason expectations, not measured purchases. InComm used the findings to encourage retailers to prepare both their gift-card assortments and the information shoppers encounter before and during a visit.