Why Your Merchant Clients Should Offer Digital Gift Cards … All Year Long

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Consumers are increasingly purchasing digital gift cards for purposes other than holiday gift-giving,

“eGift” might be a misnomer, according to research from Blackhawk Network, a prepaid and payments company. Blackhawk’s Gift Cards for Self-Use and Gifting Survey, an Internet-based survey of 1,000 American respondents conducted in October 2015, found 58 percent of consumers purchased an egift in the last year. And 63 percent of “egifts” were bought to be used by the purchaser.

The study found that consumers tend to purchase plastic gift cards to give as gifts and use egifts, more often, for themselves. Teri Llach, chief marketing officer at Blackhawk Network, commented, “Digital gifts, such as egifts and e-codes, are helping to drive rewards and incentive programs in an incremental way.”

The survey found egifts are more prevalent among millennials than other generations: 76 percent of millennials reported purchasing egifts, and 71 percent received an egift.

Plastic gift cards are the favored gifting option, with 86 percent of respondents reporting having purchased a plastic gift card in the past year, with 43 percent purchasing them solely for gift-giving.

Click here to view an infographic highlighting egift growth outside of gifting occasions.