Interesting Gift Card Data

When you think about gift cards, some things that come to mind are free dinners, trips to the mall, or gifts for special occasions. Obviously, you’re interested in the monetary value, but what if I told you that gift cards actually carry more intrigue than what the dollar amount may reveal?

Did you know that Neiman Marcus was the first to sell gift cards? You probably didn’t, mainly because they didn’t advertise or display them. It was actually Blockbuster Video that capitalized on the idea and displayed gift cards in their stores first. Shortly after that, it was Starbucks, and…you know the rest.

With the transition to digital gift cards, the journey is becoming a lot more interesting. We’ve compiled a list of some of our most intriguing findings, in which your own gift card habits may or may not have formed a part:

1. On average, a consumer takes 98 days to redeem a gift card – that’s three whole months.
2. 5-15% of eGift Card recipients become regular purchasers.
3. 19.85% of eGift Card purchases are made on a mobile device.
4. The most common words used in a gift card message are love, happy, enjoy, merry, and Christmas.
5. On average, an eGift Card travels 1400km (900 miles)- this is like traveling from Chicago to Miami.

The next time you come across a gift card, don’t just think about what you can buy with it. Consider the fascinating trends and developments that have gone into its creation, and how your habits fit into these findings.