Stats Show That Gift Cards Are Sold All Year Round

Yes, the holiday season is certainly long gone. But that doesn’t mean the season for selling gift cards is over! While it’s true that gift card sales significantly grow during the holiday season – which is to be expected – gift card sales are still pretty strong all year round. Don’t forget that there is always a reason for people to give others gifts. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and of course, Valentine’s Day, which is coming up in a few weeks, are all reasons to buy gift cards.

Are you selling gift cards to your customers? If not, you’re certainly missing out on a very reliable revenue stream. And you certainly don’t have to take our word for it! GiftCards.com reveals a number of gift card statistics that prove that they’re worth selling all year-round. The website points out that when it comes to selling gift cards, merchants have a lot to benefit from.

Just how successful is the gift card industry? According to GiftCards.com, “over $100 Billion is spent on Gift Cards annually.” Such numbers indicated that nearly everyone is buying them. In fact, “93% of U.S. consumers purchase or receive a gift card annually,” says the site. It also reveals that consumers spend an average of $213 per year on gift cards and that “83% of corporations use gift & prepaid cards for employee incentives.”

How do recipients tend to use their gift cards? The ways in which people use their gift cards is also a benefit to merchants. That’s because most customers tend to spend more than the value of their cards, making each gift card purchase a good chance that even more money will be spent in the stores they’re purchased from. According to GiftCards.com, 74% of customers spend more than the value of their cards.

How much more than the value of their gift cards do customers spend? “On average the recipient will spend 20% MORE than their gift card value,” reports the website. Evidently, adding gift cards to the list of products that you sell will increase the transaction amounts of the purchases made in your store. And, according to GiftCards.com, this will be done quickly after the originally gift card purchase. “90% of gift cards are used within the first 60 days,” says the site.

Where do consumers tend to buy their gift cards from? Apparently, there is no shortage to the number of methods people use to get their gifts cards. GiftCards.com says that 31% of gift card sales come from gift card malls and kiosks, which include grocery and convenience stores. 27% of gift card purchases are made from websites that sell multiple gift cards. 27% of sales are made in person at the retailer or restaurant. And 16% of consumers go to the retailer or restaurant’s website to buy gift cards.

How strong are gift card sales online? As you’re likely aware, online shopping continues to grow in popularity. As a result, many retailers are choosing to sell their gift cards online. According to GiftCards.com, “online gift card sales are growing by 29% per year” and all of the big players are getting involved. The site reports that 97% of the top retailers & restaurants sell their gift cards online and 92% of those top retailers offer multiple card designs.

Perhaps, the most startling statistic is the final one given. Less than 3% of local businesses sell their gift cards online, says GiftCards.com. This is a statistic that needs to change. If small business owners want to grow their businesses, they’ll add gift cards to the list of items their customers can buy. And Canadian POS Corporation can make it easy for them!

To order gift cards to sell in your store, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.