Gift card sales surge in 2015
New data has revealed that 2015 was a bumper year for gift card sales.
Figures from the Gift Voucher Shop, the company behind the One4all Post Office Gift Card which has more than 22,000 UK stores within its scheme, show a 35% increase in sales of the cards in 2015.
In addition, online sales via One4allgiftcard.co.uk saw a 60% increase compared to 2014.
Declan Byrne, managing director at GVS UK, said: “We’ve seen a phenomenal demand for gift cards in the past year. We have far exceeded our sales targets, and we are pleased to be able to pass on this custom to the high street and online retailers, where our gift cards can be redeemed.”
Gift Card orders for rewards and incentives via the corporate division, One4all Rewards, soared by 47% on the previous year.
Byrne added: “We have seen a huge rise in demand from businesses looking to create a point of difference in the competitive recruitment market, through things like rewards and incentives schemes. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of enquiries coming through as businesses strive to find new ways to reward staff for staying late and working even harder.”
According to GVS data, fashion retailers saw the largest value of One4all Gift Card redemptions during the 2015 Christmas period and overtook general merchandise stores which were number one in 2014.
General merchandise retailers fell into second place, followed by department stores, health and beauty, and electricals and entertainment retailers.
Retailers focusing on men and motors, children and mothers, books, jewellery and restaurants completed the top ten.
Byrne said: “We’re delighted that we’ve seen such growth in the fashion category, especially during a year which has seen retailers like John Lewis, H&M, GAP Online, and TK Maxx Online joining the One4all scheme.”
