Gift Card Market Trends and Forecast
The future of the global gift card market looks promising with opportunities in the retail establishment and corporate institution markets. The global gift card market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 17.7% from 2025 to 2031. The major drivers for this market are the increasing adoption of digital payments, the rising demand for gifting solutions, and the growing popularity of e-commerce shopping.
• Lucintel forecasts that, within the card type category, closed-loop card is expected to witness higher growth over the forecast period.
• Within the end use category, retail establishment is expected to witness higher growth.
• In terms of region, North America is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period.
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Emerging Trends in the Gift Card Market
The gift card market is changing with considerable shifts in consumer behavior, advances in technology, and increasing demand for digital. While mobile payments and e-commerce keep on expanding, the gift card market worldwide is experiencing a number of significant trends. The trends are transforming the ways consumers buy, redeem, and gift cards and companies customize their products to address emerging consumer needs. Here are five of the major trends transforming the gift card market.
• Going Digital with Gift Cards: Digital gift cards are gaining traction with the ease of mobile platforms and online shopping. Customers like digital gift cards due to their real-time delivery, use online, and convenience in sending through emails or messaging applications. This can be seen during peak holidays and events when gifting needs to be done urgently. Retailers are also investing in frictionless digital delivery channels, making it simpler for consumers to buy and redeem gift cards.
• Mobile Wallet Integration: Gift cards are being integrated with popular mobile wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay, enabling consumers to store and use them digitally. This trend is enabling contactless payments, making gift cards more convenient and secure to use. As mobile commerce gains traction, consumers are increasingly using digital wallets to make payments, including gifting. Retailers are meeting consumers halfway by introducing gift cards that work on mobile devices, making the shopping experience easier for consumers by letting them handle their cards on the go.
• Customizable and Personalized Gift Cards: Personalization is now a defining characteristic of the gift card industry. Gift card recipients expect to personalize their gift cards with their own messages, themes, or even pictures. Retailers are meeting this expectation by selling customizable digital and physical gift cards that enable the recipient to choose certain designs, values, or even charity donations. This practice is especially sought after during festive seasons, weddings, and other important occasions when customers want to make their gifts personal.
• Gift Card Loyalty Programs: Gift card loyalty programs are becoming increasingly popular, as retailers look to improve customer retention and engagement. By combining gift cards with loyalty points or rewards schemes, companies can foster repeat spending and boost customer loyalty. For example, a customer might earn rewards when buying a gift card or take advantage of gift cards to exchange for loyalty points. This trend is beneficial for both consumers, who receive extra value, and companies, who experience an increase in customer retention and sales.
• Increased Corporate Gifting Programs: Corporate gifting has become a key segment of the gift card industry. Companies are increasingly utilizing gift cards as part of employee recognition, incentives, and reward schemes. Corporate customers prefer customized gift cards that can be made specifically to individual tastes, creating a more personalized employee experience. The trend is on the rise worldwide as companies acknowledge the advantage of giving digital or physical gift cards as a reward for performance, birthdays, and work anniversaries.
The new trends in the gift card industry, such as the transition to digital cards, mobile wallet integration, personalization, loyalty programs, and corporate gifting, are transforming the market. These trends signal that the future of gift cards will be about convenience, personalization, and digitalization, providing consumers and businesses with greater flexibility and ease of use.
Recent Development in the Gift Card Market
The gift card industry has been characterized by a number of significant developments over the past few years, which have been fueled by technological advancements, changes in consumer behavior, and changing market forces. These trends are indicative of the growing importance of gift cards in both consumer giving and business-to-business operations. The following are five significant trends in the gift card industry that are defining the future of the sector.
• Launch of Blockchain-Based Gift Cards: Blockchain technology has begun to impact the gift card market by improving security and minimizing fraud. Blockchain gift cards are transparent, with real-time monitoring of card balances and transaction history. This technology is especially beneficial in avoiding the abuse of cards and ensuring that consumers and businesses enjoy a secure and transparent experience when using gift cards. Blockchain also facilitates smooth integration across various platforms, allowing businesses to easily manage gift card distribution.
• Expansion of Multi-Brand Gift Cards: Multi-brand gift cards, enabling recipients to spend cards across multiple retailers or platforms, are increasingly gaining popularity. These gift cards provide consumers with more flexibility and enable them to redeem their cards at a variety of outlets, ranging from internet stores to bricks-and-mortar retailers. This trend is on the increase as more brands and retailers come together to issue co-branded gift cards. Multi-brand cards are now a popular choice for consumers who desire multiple options when they redeem their gift cards.
• More Regulation and Consumer Protection: As the market for gift cards expands, so does the demand for regulation and consumer protection. Most countries are introducing new legislation to avoid fraud and safeguard consumers who buy gift cards. For instance, the U.S. has established rules that mandate transparent labeling of gift card expiration dates and fees. This keeps consumers well-informed and prevents unwanted surprises upon using their gift cards. These regulations increase the overall trust in the gift card market.
• Improved Gift Card Marketing Strategies: Gift card marketing tactics have become more sophisticated to incorporate targeted promotions and influencer partnerships. Retailers are employing digital platforms, such as social media and email, to better promote gift cards. Seasonal promotions and personalized messaging are also fueling the use of gift cards during holidays and special occasions. Companies are increasingly using data to segment consumers and provide customized gift card options, making them more appealing and increasing sales.
• Use of Contactless Payment Options: The growing use of contactless payment options has impacted the expansion of gift cards. Consumers want to use gift cards with contactless payment features, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Contactless technology allows for speedy, secure, and hygienic transactions, making the whole process more convenient for consumers. This trend is driving gift cards deeper into the mainstream, particularly for retail and online purchases.
Major trends like blockchain gift cards, multi-brand gift cards, greater regulation, better marketing strategies, and the use of contactless payments are driving the future of the gift card industry. These trends are making gift cards safer, more flexible, and more accessible, adding greater value to consumers and businesses.
Strategic Growth Opportunities in the Gift Card Market
The gift card industry offers a number of strategic growth opportunities, fueled by advances in technology, shifts in consumer behavior, and the growth in digital payments. Firms that are able to take advantage of these opportunities will be in good stead to take advantage of the growth in gift card demand across all the segments, including retail, corporate gifting, and digital platforms. Five of the most important growth opportunities in the gift card market are discussed here:
• Growth in Emerging Markets: As online penetration and mobile phone penetration rise in developing countries, there is an opportunity for gift card issuers to leverage these markets. Gift cards are a popular product in online spaces such as India, Brazil, and Southeast Asia, where online shopping is expanding fast. By adapting products to regional tastes and providing mobile-compatible digital gift cards, companies can penetrate more deeply and make the most of the upcoming demand.
• Incentive and Corporate Gifting Programs: Corporate gift programs represent a strong growth opportunity in the gift card space. Gift cards are being widely embraced by companies as part of their employee rewards schemes, applied towards performance bonuses, birthdays, and other milestones. Gift cards present businesses with an easy, versatile way to reward employees. With corporate recognition trends on the rise worldwide, this segment is an attractive area of growth for suppliers.
• Personalized Gift Cards: Customers are looking for more personalized gift-giving experiences, and personalized gift cards provide a chance for differentiation. Providing customizable designs, messages, and values enable customers to make a more thoughtful and meaningful gift. This trend is especially applicable during holidays and special events. Companies can draw more customers by providing personalized digital and physical gift cards.
• Integration with E-Commerce Platforms: As e-commerce keeps growing, there is a chance to incorporate gift cards into an overall online shopping experience. Retailers and e-commerce platforms can increase customer experience by providing gift cards as one of their payment options. The easy integration of gift cards with digital wallets and payment gateways will continue to boost growth in this industry.
• Gift Cards as Digital Payment Tools: Gift cards are finding greater usage as electronic payment mediums on a range of platforms, from e-commerce to mobile payment wallets. This creates a potential for companies to make gift cards a convenient payment method. By allowing users to add gift cards to virtual wallets and make day-to-day payments, businesses can further increase gift card usage.
The strategic opportunities for growth in the gift card market are enormous, fueled by emerging markets, corporate gifting, personalization, integration into e-commerce, and the growth in the usage of gift cards as digital payment instruments. Organizations that target these areas will be able to build on their products and leverage the growing demand for gift cards across different applications.
Gift Card Market Driver and Challenges
The gift card industry is influenced by several drivers and challenges, including technological innovations, customer behavior, and government regulations. The drivers and challenges impact the way gift cards are presented, promoted, and consumed. Business owners can benefit from knowing these drivers and challenges to better cope with changes in the market and design strategies for tapping their potential in the changing gift card environment. Five essential drivers and three challenges of the gift card industry are outlined below.
The factors responsible for driving the gift card market include:
1. Technological Innovation: Technological innovations, particularly in mobile payment and digital wallet technologies, have been major contributors to the expansion of the gift card industry. Mobile wallets, such as Apple Pay and Google Wallet, enable consumers to store and use gift cards digitally, while improvements in blockchain technology are enhancing the security and transparency of gift card transactions.
2. Increasing E-Commerce and Digital Payments: The fast expansion of e-commerce and the rise in digital payments have opened up new avenues for the gift card industry. Gift cards are being increasingly promoted by online merchants as part of sales, while digital payment services are adding gift cards to their offerings. With e-commerce expanding world over, the demand for gift cards is expected to increase.
3. Consumer Preference for Flexibility: Today‘s consumers are in search of versatile gifting possibilities, and the gift card represents the ideal answer. Having options to select among a number of brands, amounts, and methods of delivery offers the gift card a high appeal as a means of gifting. Such flexibility is especially worthwhile during the holidays and other occasions.
4. Growth of Corporate Gifting: The emergence of corporate gift programs, rewards, and incentives is fueling business growth in the gift card market. Gift cards are increasingly being used by many firms as an economical and convenient method to reward partners, clients, and employees. The trend is supporting rising demand for gift cards within the business sector.
5. Rise of Personalization: Personalization has emerged as a major driving force in the gift card business, with shoppers looking for customized cards with their own messages, designs, and themes. Personalized gift card products are increasingly being driven by this trend, especially in the retail and e-commerce industries. Personalized cards provide a richer gift-giving experience, and this draws in more customers.
Challenges in the gift card market are:
1. Security and Fraud Risks: As digital gift card usage grows, so does the threat of fraud. Illegal activities, including unauthorized use of gift card balances, continue to be a challenge for consumers and businesses alike. Keeping transactions secure and safeguarding sensitive data are top concerns for gift card issuers.
2. Regulatory Compliance: The gift card market is subject to sophisticated regulatory needs, which differ by geography. For example, expiration date regulations, fee rules, and consumer protection legislation can be quite different. Compliance with these regulations means that companies need to spend money and time on compliance initiatives.
3. Lack of Standardization: The absence of standardization among gift card structures and platforms creates a challenge. Various retailers and payment providers could have gift cards with different terms, redemption methods, and technology platforms. The lack of uniformity can be confusing to customers and can act as a stumbling block for gift card adoption as a universal means of payment.
The gift card industry is fueled by technological innovation, the expansion of electronic commerce, and the demand for flexibility and customization. Issues of security, compliance with regulations, and no standardization must, however, be overcome if the market is to evolve further. With proper navigation of the drivers and challenges, companies can position themselves to thrive in the gift card sector.
List of Gift Card Companies
Companies in the market compete on the basis of product quality offered. Major players in this market focus on expanding their manufacturing facilities, R&D investments, infrastructural development, and leverage integration opportunities across the value chain. With these strategies gift card companies cater increasing demand, ensure competitive effectiveness, develop innovative products & technologies, reduce production costs, and expand their customer base. Some of the gift card companies profiled in this report include-
• PayPal
• Fiserv
• Givex Corporation
• Qwikcilver Solutions
• Walmart
• Amazon.com
• Blackhawk Network
• American Express Company
• Paytronix Systems
• InComm Payments
Gift Card Market by Segment
The study includes a forecast for the global gift card market by card type, end use, and region.
Gift Card Market by Card Type [Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Closed-loop Card
• Open-loop Card
Gift Card Market by End Use [Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• Retail Establishment
• Corporate Institutions
Gift Card Market by Region [Value from 2019 to 2031]:
• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• The Rest of the World
Country Wise Outlook for the Gift Card Market
The world market for gift cards has witnessed fast growth in the last few years due to a rise in consumers‘ demands for digital payment systems, online sales, and more contactless purchases. Gift cards have increasingly remained a secure, easy way to make payments, with organizations releasing physical as well as virtual gift cards. In economies like the United States, China, Germany, India, and Japan, there have been developments that have made a significant impact on the industry, ranging from regulatory reforms to advancements in electronic gift card technology. The following are the most important developments across these economies.
• United States: In the United States, the market for gift cards has recorded tremendous growth, especially in digital gift cards. Online retailing giants such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target have increased their online gift card sales, simplifying the process of sending and receiving cards electronically. Mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Wallet have also played a role in increasing the growth, as consumers are now opting for digital gift cards due to their convenience. Furthermore, the US market has also experienced greater embedding of gift cards within loyalty schemes, providing customers with more customized and rewarding experiences.
• China: China has experienced a boom in the digital gift card market driven by the strong mobile payments environment in the country. Alipay and WeChat Pay platforms have embedded gift card options, enabling customers to buy and send gift cards through mobile applications. This is especially popular during Chinese holidays like Lunar New Year, where gift cards are also exchanged as a gift. In addition, electronic gift cards have also become a key component of the e-commerce system, with more and more retailers integrating these products as a complement to cash.
• Germany: Germany‘s gift card market continues to expand slowly, spurred by consumers‘ rising purchasing power for versatile and secure gift modes. Gift cards are most widely used in the retail industry, with large German retailers both issuing physical and virtual cards. Another trend also exists among Germans to purchase cross-border gift cards, such as gift cards for global retailers Amazon and iTunes. Gift card promotions are on the rise among e-commerce sites, particularly during large holidays, as they are very appealing to those looking for immediate, customizable presents.
• India: India‘s gift card industry is growing strongly, fueled by growth in digital payments and the rise of e-commerce. Gift cards are increasingly becoming a popular mode of gifting, especially around festivals such as Diwali and weddings. Large retailers and online players like Amazon and Flipkart have added gift cards to their bouquet of offerings. In addition, increasing internet penetration and smartphone usage in India have made digital gift cards more accessible. The regulatory environment of India is also evolving to support this, giving further momentum to market growth.
• Japan: The Japanese market for gift cards has experienced a trend toward digital solutions, although physical gift cards are still well-liked. Japan has a peculiar culture of gift-giving, and gift cards are used frequently as a considerate, though convenient, present. Online retail sites like Rakuten and Amazon Japan have stepped up their offerings of gift cards, while mobile wallets like LINE Pay are also incorporating digital gift cards into their services. The COVID-19 pandemic has given a boost to the use of contactless payment and digital gift cards, with consumers looking for safer ways to make transactions.
Features of the Global Gift Card Market
Market Size Estimates: Gift card market size estimation in terms of value ($B).
Trend and Forecast Analysis: Market trends (2019 to 2024) and forecast (2025 to 2031) by various segments and regions.
Segmentation Analysis: Gift card market size by card type, end use, and region in terms of value ($B).
Regional Analysis: Gift card market breakdown by North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World.
Growth Opportunities: Analysis of growth opportunities in different card type, end use, and regions for the gift card market.
Strategic Analysis: This includes M&A, new product development, and competitive landscape of the gift card market.
Analysis of competitive intensity of the industry based on Porter’s Five Forces model.
FAQ
Q1. What is the growth forecast for gift card market?
Answer: The global gift card market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 17.7% from 2025 to 2031.
Q2. What are the major drivers influencing the growth of the gift card market?
Answer: The major drivers for this market are the increasing adoption of digital payments, the rising demand for gifting solutions, and the growing popularity of e-commerce shopping.
Q3. What are the major segments for gift card market?
Answer: The future of the gift card market looks promising with opportunities in the retail establishment and corporate institution markets.
Q4. Who are the key gift card market companies?
Answer: Some of the key gift card companies are as follows:
• PayPal
• Fiserv
• Givex Corporation
• Qwikcilver Solutions
• Walmart
• Amazon.com
• Blackhawk Network
• American Express Company
• Paytronix Systems
• InComm Payments
Q5. Which gift card market segment will be the largest in future?
Answer: Lucintel forecasts that, within the card type category, closed-loop card is expected to witness higher growth over the forecast period.
Q6. In gift card market, which region is expected to be the largest in next 5 years?
Answer: In terms of region, North America is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period.
Q7. Do we receive customization in this report?
Answer: Yes, Lucintel provides 10% customization without any additional cost.
This report answers following 11 key questions:
Q.1. What are some of the most promising, high-growth opportunities for the gift card market by card type (closed-loop card and open-loop card), end use (retail establishment and corporate institutions), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World)?
Q.2. Which segments will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.3. Which region will grow at a faster pace and why?
Q.4. What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the key challenges and business risks in this market?
Q.5. What are the business risks and competitive threats in this market?
Q.6. What are the emerging trends in this market and the reasons behind them?
Q.7. What are some of the changing demands of customers in the market?
Q.8. What are the new developments in the market? Which companies are leading these developments?
Q.9. Who are the major players in this market? What strategic initiatives are key players pursuing for business growth?
Q.10. What are some of the competing products in this market and how big of a threat do they pose for loss of market share by material or product substitution?
Q.11. What M&A activity has occurred in the last 5 years and what has its impact been on the industry?
For any questions related to Gift Card Market, Gift Card Market Size, Gift Card Market Growth, Gift Card Market Analysis, Gift Card Market Report, Gift Card Market Share, Gift Card Market Trends, Gift Card Market Forecast, Gift Card Companies, write Lucintel analyst at email: helpdesk@lucintel.com. We will be glad to get back to you soon.