Gift card sales climb by 13% in third quarter of 2013
Sales of gift cards and vouchers grew by 13% in the third quarter of 2013, according to figures released by The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association.
The figures, compiled independently by BDO, show that consumer gift cards were particularly popular in the summer months with growth across the three largest sales channels – retailers, agents and leisure operators – being exceptionally strong.
Significant growth was witnessed across different types of consumer gift card sales. The largest contributor came from the category specific gift cards which made up almost 80% of consumer sales and a third of the total market, whilst multi-choice also performed well, growing by 67%.
Andrew Johnson, director general of the UKGCVA, said: “We are extremely pleased with the phenomenal level of consumer sales over the summer months; 13% growth is very strong by any means.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Consumer sentiment towards gift cards and vouchers appears to be fast building momentum, and it’s positive to see this spreading across product types to include multi-choice products as well as category specific gift cards. Time will obviously be the test, but this is a very encouraging position to be in the run up to Christmas when we’re expecting bumper sales.”
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