Gift Cards Market is Expected to Reach $2,076.51 Billion by 2027

According to a recent report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Gift Cards Market by Card Type and End User: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027,” 

The global gift cards market size was valued at $619.25 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $2,076.51 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 16.2% from 2020 to 2027.

Gift cards are also known as gift certificates, gift vouchers, and gift tokens, which are generally issued by a retailer or bank as a developmental strategy used for promoting businesses, attract new customers, increase brand awareness, reduce fraud, and improve sales. North America is the highest revenue contributor across the globe; owing to increase in government initiatives for adoption of digital payments alternatives for cash in many sectors such as hospitality, banking, corporate institutions, and retailers. Technological innovations in product offerings, rise in adoption of digital gift cards by the retail industry in the U.S. & Canada, and promotion of gift card programs through omnichannel drive the gifts card market growth in these countries. 

Furthermore, North America has one of the most advanced and well-established payment infrastructures globally, which drives the gift cards market trends in the region. Moreover, gift card vendors have started investing in Asia-Pacific, owing to improved Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure in majority of countries such as China, India, Malaysia, Australia, and Japan, which creates lucrative opportunities for the gift cards market in Asia-Pacific.

On the basis of end user, the corporate institutions segment is the fastest growing segment in 2019, and is projected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Majority of businesses are increasingly using gift cards as a reward tool for multiple groups, which is expected to create significant opportunities for the market during the forecast period.

By region, the global gift cards market was dominated by North America in 2019 and is expected to maintain this trend during the forecast period. Due to governments in countries such as the U.S. and Canada have extended their involvement in the use of digital payments which are becoming major factors that influence growth of the gift cards market in this region. However, Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. Owing to presence of emerging economies, coupled with increase in use of smart phones, Asia-Pacific is expected to progress significantly, with rapid industrialization and growth in demand for cashless payment and hassle-free payment at stores.  

The gift cards industry has experienced significant impact on revenue, owing to massive penetration of work from home strategy across several industry verticals, organizations are increasingly making use of gift cards to offer their employees & business partners with rewards and sales incentive cards. Therefore, to maintain regulatory COVID-19 guidelines, organizations & business entities have largely switched toward digitalized gifting models during the pandemic situation. 

Key findings of the study

• By card type, the closed-loop card segment led the gift cards market size, in terms of revenue in 2019.
• By end user, the retail establishments segment accounted for the highest gift cards market share in 2019.
• By region, North America generated the highest revenue in 2019.

The key players profiled in the gift cards market analysis are Amazon.com, Inc., American Express Company, Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc., Fiserv, Inc., Givex Corporation, InComm Payments, PayPal, Inc., Paytronix Systems, Inc., Qwikcilver Solutions Pvt Ltd., and Walmart Inc. These players have adopted various strategies to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry.