Hot Gift Card Trends for the Holidays
Shelley Hunter, Gift Card Girlfriend at GiftCards.com, shares tips for purchasing the most requested holiday gift
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed this time of year, especially when it comes to gift giving. According to the National Retail Federation1 (NRF), consumers will spend more than $637 dollars on holiday gifts alone this year. That’s a significant amount of money to spend—especially on items you hope your loved ones will enjoy and use.
One surefire way to satisfy family and friends with something they want, while sticking to your budget and staying sane through the busy shopping season is with gift cards. In fact, gift cards—likely due to their versatility—remain the #1 most popular request on people’s wish lists for a 12th consecutive year2.
Here are three of the hottest trends in gift cards to include on your shopping lists this year:
The Gift of Choice: Happy Cards
This holiday, give the gift of choice with the newest gift card on the market: Happy Cards, a line of curated gift cards featuring multiple brands are perfect for gifting on special occasions to targeted recipients, such as women, men, kids, teens and foodies. Happy Cards are unique because they are gift cards that feature a variety of retailers and restaurants from different brands.
The opportunity to give one gift card that the recipient can use in a variety of places he or she enjoys can relieve the pressure of finding the perfect gift.
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The value of each Happy Card is customizable, ranging from $20 to $500, and there are no fees associated with these cards. With various Happy Card “themes” to choose, like Happy Bites, Happy Lady, Happy Guy and Happy Teen, you can rest easy knowing you got it right, because the Happy Card gives recipients the freedom to eat, shop or play at any of the stores featured on a single card. Recipients can choose how and when to use their Happy Card multiple times, across any participating brand until funds are depleted. Happy Cards are available online and at gift card kiosks in Kroger, Safeway, Albertsons and other locations nationwide.
The Anywhere Gift: Personalized Visa or Mastercard gift cards
Recent gift card research3 found that 66 percent of consumers are interested in a gift card personalized for the holidays. So, forego the monogrammed sweater and get personal with a completely custom Visa or Mastercard gift card on GiftCards.com. Just upload any photo from your computer or Facebook, or choose from a gallery of images to create the perfect gift. The personalization on the gift card adds a nice touch of thoughtfulness while also allowing the recipient to purchase something they really want.
The Gift of Experience: Gift cards that deliver unique experiences
There are a myriad of ways to treat people to experiences they will never forget like a rejuvenating spa day, a round of golf, or even contribute to a vacation they are planning. Here is a list of Top Experiential Gift Cards that Make Unique Gifts: https://www.giftcards.com/gcgf/best-experiential-giftcards.
For more information on gift card trends, tips and where to purchase the hottest holiday gifts, visit GiftCards.com.
1 National Retail Federation’s 2018 holiday spending survey is an internet-based survey conducted independently by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey of 7,313 adult consumers was conducted October 1-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
2 National Retail Federation’s 2018 holiday spending survey is an internet-based survey conducted independently by Prosper Insights & Analytics. The survey of 7,313 adult consumers was conducted October 1-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points.
3 “2018 State of Consumer Gift Card Preferences” is an internet-based survey conducted independently by Leger on behalf of Blackhawk Network in March 2018. The sample size included 3,030 American respondents ages 18+.