Runa's review of Cyber Week 2023 identified different merchant preferences among gift card recipients in the United Kingdom and United States. Published in December, the analysis concerns activity on the Runa Network during the Thanksgiving-to-Cyber-Monday shopping period, rather than the whole gift card market.

John Lewis and Marks & Spencer headed the UK list, followed by Argos, Currys, Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, Primark, Just Eat and Amazon UK. The range included department stores, electronics, groceries, fashion and food delivery.

Runa interpreted the strong presence of supermarkets as an indication that recipients were using rewards for everyday spending. It also connected the popularity of Argos and Currys with the ability to use rewards across online and in-store shopping, although the article did not provide a controlled analysis of the causes of each retailer's position.

Just Eat's appearance was discussed alongside its Freebie Friday promotion, which extended over the Black Friday weekend. Runa suggested that the offer appealed to consumers seeking value from their reward balance.

In the United States, Apple and Amazon headed the list, followed by Home Depot, Foot Locker, Kohl's, Chevron and Texaco, Target, Dick's Sporting Goods, Nike and Bath & Body Works. The selection combined technology, general retail, home improvement, fuel, sportswear and personal care.

The company highlighted Home Depot as an example of reward spending on home projects and grouped Nike, Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods around sporting purchases. It described fuel and general retailers as options for familiar, practical spending.

Runa's interpretation linked the two markets through recipient choice: customers could direct reward value to brands they used frequently or to purchases planned for the promotional period. The article did not provide redemption counts or merchant percentage shares, so the lists establish the reported ordering and category mix rather than the size of the gap between brands.

Amazon illustrates that difference in ordering: Amazon.co.uk was tenth in the published UK list, while Amazon.com was second in the US list. A lower rank number means a higher place. The comparison contains no information about the spending distance between positions, and Runa did not disclose whether its ordering was calculated from value, transaction count or another measure.

The data behind the story

Amazon occupied different positions in the two published lists

Runa Network Cyber Week 2023 country lists. Ordinal position only: lower number means higher ranking.

Ordinal rank (lower is higher)
Source
Runa original December 21, 2023 ordered merchant lists

Bar values encode list positions only, not redemption totals, market share or meaningful numeric distances. A position of 10 does not represent five times the spending at position 2. Underlying count, value, recipient base and ranking formula are undisclosed; country catalogues may differ.

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Amazon occupied different positions in the two published lists (Ordinal rank (lower is higher))
CategoryPublished list position
Amazon.co.uk: UK list, tenth10 Ordinal rank (lower is higher)
Amazon.com: US list, second2 Ordinal rank (lower is higher)

For merchants and reward programme operators, the review illustrates how a catalogue can serve both discretionary shopping and everyday expenses during a major retail event. All merchant rankings in the report relate to Cyber Week 2023 on Runa's network.