32 Gift Card Industry Statistics and Market Trends (2026)
Gift cards were the most-requested gift category in NRF's October 2025 US holiday survey, with 50% naming them among desired gifts. These 32 figures cover market estimates, seasonal buying intentions, digital formats, service-business results, unused balances and reported fraud. Dates and measurement definitions matter: sales, planned spending, outstanding value and accounting breakage are different outcomes.
Collection updated: October 2026
32 Gift Card Industry Statistics and Market Trends (2026) reveal key trends in scheduling and appointment management. This collection contains 32 data points. Check each source's population, reporting period and methodology before applying a figure to your business; forecasts and vendor case studies are not general industry results.
Table of Contents
Market Size, Growth and Unused Value
Allied Market Research's estimated global gift-card market value for 2025, covering physical and digital cards. Its current public summary forecasts $2.740T in 2035; these are commercial research estimates, not audited worldwide sales.
Allied Market Research, Gift Cards Market 2026-2035 public summary
Projected US gift-card spending for the 2025 winter holidays in NRF/Prosper's October 31-November 6 survey of 8,000 adults. A seasonal estimate based on buying intentions, not observed sales or the annual US gift-card market size.
NRF / Prosper Insights & Analytics, November 2025 holiday survey
Forecast annual compound growth for the global gift-card market during 2026-2035 in Allied Market Research's current summary. A modeled forecast, not measured annual growth or a digital-only market rate.
Allied Market Research, Gift Cards Market 2026-2035 public summary
Estimated outstanding unused gift-card, voucher and store-credit value nationwide in Bankrate's September 2024 release. August 19-21 weighted online survey of 2,373 US adults, including 1,010 with unused value. A point-in-time balance estimate, not annual breakage revenue.
Forecast CAGR for the corporate segment of the global gift-card and incentive-card market during 2026-2031 in Mordor Intelligence's January 2026 proprietary model. A projected growth rate, not measured corporate spending or a gift-card-only US market total.
Mordor Intelligence, January 2026 gift-card and incentive-card model
Estimated physical-format share of the global gift-card and incentive-card market in 2025, in Mordor Intelligence's January 2026 proprietary model. The publisher's segmentation is based on market value; it does not establish physical or digital shares of transaction counts.
Mordor Intelligence, January 2026 gift-card and incentive-card model
Consumer Behavior and Preferences
Adult consumers naming gift cards among gifts they wanted to receive for the 2025 holidays in NRF/Prosper's October 1-7 survey of 8,247 adults. Not an exclusive first-choice measure or a year-round preference.
NRF / Prosper Insights & Analytics, October 2025 Holiday Survey
Respondents reporting spending beyond gift-card value in First Data's 2016 survey of 3,650 consumers, summarized in its 2017 Connected magazine, pp. 32-33. Geography and weighting are undisclosed in the article; historical self-report, not a current universal recipient rate or a controlled revenue effect.
First Data, 2016 Consumer Insights Study; Connected Volume 1, 2017, pp. 32-33
Average spending above original gift-card value reported in First Data's October 2018 survey of 2,003 adult respondents, summarized by Fiserv. Gift-card subgroup size, geography and weighting are undisclosed in the public summaries. Historical self-report, not card purchase value or guaranteed incremental sales.
First Data 2018 Consumer Insights Study / Fiserv publisher summary
US adults saying they have given a gift card as a gift in Bankrate/YouGov's August 19-21, 2024 online survey of 2,373 adults. Weighted non-probability sample; reported prior experience, without a preceding-12-month limit.
Consumers liking the idea of storing gift-card information in an app in First Data's 2016 survey of 3,650 consumers, summarized in Connected magazine in 2017. Geography and weighting are not disclosed in this article. Historical stated interest, not observed app adoption or millennial digital-card preference.
First Data 2016 Consumer Insights Study, Connected Volume 1 (2017), pp. 32-33
Consumers planning to give gift cards for the 2025 holidays in NRF/Prosper's October 31-November 6 survey of 8,000 adults. Purchase intention, not observed holiday purchases or annual buying prevalence.
NRF / Prosper Insights & Analytics, November 2025 holiday survey
Number of gift cards consumers planned to buy for the 2025 winter holidays, according to NRF/Prosper's October 31-November 6 survey of 8,000 adults. The release does not disclose the gift-card-purchaser question base; seasonal intention, not an annual observed purchase average.
NRF / Prosper Insights & Analytics, November 2025 holiday survey
Gift Card Formats and Delivery
Digital share of gift cards sold in 2023 reported in Paytronix's 2024 publisher release. Report dataset: 241 merchants continuously operating programs during 2019-2023. Geography and weighting are undisclosed; a vendor-client sales-count measure, not worldwide digital market share.
Paytronix original 2024 Gift Card Trend Report publisher release
Forecast annual compound growth for the digital segment of the global gift-card and incentive-card market during 2026-2031. Mordor Intelligence's January 2026 proprietary estimate, not observed annual sales growth or an independently reproduced forecast.
Mordor Intelligence, January 2026 gift-card and incentive-card model
Respondents reporting giving a gift card because they did not have time to buy anything else in Bankrate/YouGov's August 2024 US survey. Overall weighted online sample: 2,373 adults; the gift-giver question base is undisclosed. A reported motive, not same-day digital-card purchasing.
Average time to redemption for online-purchased cards reported in Paytronix's 2024 release, compared with 35.3 days for in-store purchases. Dataset covers 241 continuously operating merchant programs during 2019-2023; redemption subset and observation horizon are undisclosed. A channel comparison, not a lifetime redemption percentage.
Paytronix original 2024 Gift Card Trend Report publisher release
Consumers interested in automatically reloading a gift card online or through an app in First Data's 2016 survey of 3,650 consumers. Connected Volume 1 (2017), pp. 32-33; geography and weighting are undisclosed. Stated interest, not actual reloading or sending a gift card through messaging apps.
First Data 2016 Consumer Insights Study, Connected Volume 1 (2017), pp. 32-33
Increase in the number of digital gift cards sold in 2023 versus 2022 reported by Paytronix. Its 2024 report uses 241 merchants with continuous programs during 2019-2023; geography and weighting are undisclosed. Sales-count growth, not a redemption-speed multiplier.
Paytronix original 2024 Gift Card Trend Report publisher release
Gift Cards for Retail and Service Businesses
Retailers planning to offer gift cards for the 2020 holiday season in Square/Wakefield's November 2020 survey, released December 4. The public release does not disclose respondent counts or weighting. Historical retail intention, not current small-business adoption or a comparable 2020-to-present trend.
Square / Wakefield Research original November 2020 holiday survey
Share of gift cards redeemed by new customers reported in Zenoti's 2025 beauty-and-wellness benchmark summary. Calendar 2024 US/Canada platform data; card counts and detailed redemption denominator are undisclosed. This platform result does not establish how many small businesses report gaining customers or prove incremental acquisition.
Zenoti 2025 Benchmark Report, calendar 2024 US/Canada platform data
Average amount holiday gift-card recipients planned to spend beyond card value in BHN's original 2024 Post-Holiday infographic. January 2025 survey of 2,012 US adults who purchased or received a holiday gift; recipient subgroup count and weighting are undisclosed. Intended overspending, not observed small-business sales.
BHN original 2024 Post-Holiday Research, January 2025 US survey
Gift-card recipients saying they would never have visited a store without receiving a card in First Data's October 2018 study, summarized by Fiserv in 2022. Study overall: 2,003 adult respondents; recipient subgroup count, geography and weighting are undisclosed in the public summaries. Self-reported counterfactual, not observed first-time visits.
Fiserv 2018 Consumer Insights Study, original 2022 small-business guide, p. 2
Expected gift-card spending per person for the 2025 winter holidays reported by NRF/Prosper. October 31-November 6 survey of 8,000 adults; the gift-card-purchaser question base is undisclosed. Buying intention, not a share of small-business annual revenue.
NRF / Prosper Insights & Analytics, November 2025 holiday survey
Year-over-year growth in salon gift-card revenue during calendar 2024 reported in Zenoti's 2025 US/Canada platform benchmark summary. Salon and card counts and aggregation details are undisclosed. Observed platform growth, not promotion ROI or a guaranteed outcome for a business.
Zenoti 2025 Benchmark Report, calendar 2024 US/Canada platform data
Redemption, Breakage, and Fraud
US adults reporting money lost through gift-card expiry, loss or a merchant going out of business in Bankrate/YouGov's August 19-21, 2024 online survey of 2,373 adults. Weighted non-probability sample; reasons overlap. This measures people reporting prior losses, not the proportion of gift-card value unredeemed.
US adults reporting losing money after letting a gift card expire in Bankrate/YouGov's August 19-21, 2024 online survey of 2,373 adults. Weighted non-probability sample; reported prior experience without a stated recall limit. Not the lifetime share of cards never used.
Median unused gift-card, voucher or store-credit balance among holders in Bankrate/YouGov's August 19-21, 2024 online survey. Overall 2,373 US adults, including 1,010 holding unused value; weighted non-probability sample. Point-in-time holdings, not recognized annual breakage revenue.
Reported 2024 fraud losses involving gift or reload cards in the FTC Consumer Sentinel data book, published March 2025. Based on consumer reports, not a survey or estimate of all US gift-card fraud.
Approximate share of 2024 Sentinel fraud reports identifying a payment method that used gift or reload cards: 41,120 of 475,905. Not the share of all scam victims; only 18% of all fraud reports identified a payment method.
US adults with an unused gift card, voucher or store credit in Bankrate/YouGov's August 19-21, 2024 online survey of 2,373 adults. A weighted non-probability sample; this measures people holding unused value, not cards never redeemed.
Average redemption time for in-store-purchased cards reported in Paytronix's 2024 release, versus 16.8 days for online purchases. Dataset: 241 merchants with continuous programs during 2019-2023; redemption subset and horizon are undisclosed. A channel-specific historical result, not an all-consumer holding-time average.
Paytronix original 2024 Gift Card Trend Report publisher release
What the Data Tells Us
Allied estimates a $1.124 trillion global gift-card market in 2025 and forecasts 9.3% CAGR for 2026-2035. These commercial estimates differ in scope and method from Mordor's gift-card and incentive-card model.
NRF projected $29.1 billion in US gift-card spending for the 2025 holidays. Seasonal buying intentions do not establish annual market size or actual sales.
Paytronix reported 34% of cards sold by its merchant clients in 2023 were digital. Mordor's physical-format market-value share and digital growth forecast use different measures and cannot establish the same sales-count split.
First Data's 2016 and 2018 surveys describe historical reported spending and preferences. BHN's $81 additional-spending figure is a January 2025 holiday-recipient intention, not an observed revenue lift.
Bankrate estimated about $27 billion in outstanding unused gift-card, voucher and store-credit value in August 2024. This balance is distinct from annual breakage or the share of cards never redeemed.
FTC recorded $212 million in gift/reload-card fraud losses reported in 2024. These cards appeared in about 8.6% of reports identifying a payment method; the data does not estimate all gift-card fraud.
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