Growth in consumer sales of gift cards and vouchers continues
Consumer gift card and voucher sales grew by 6.14% into the fourth quarter of 2014, according to figures released by The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association.
A new report compiled independently by consultants at BDO shows that in the fourth quarter of 2014, the gift card and voucher industry grew by 8.43%, bringing growth for the full year of 2014 to 8.07%.
The most popular products within consumer sales were gift cards, which made up 55.75% of total consumer sales. Growth in consumer gift cards and vouchers during the fourth quarter was driven by Christmas purchases, with sales representing 59.43% of the total market compared to just 39.61% during the third quarter of 2014.
Andrew Johnson, director-general of the UKGCVA, said: “The continuing growth of consumer sales of gift cards and vouchers is very encouraging, and the popularity of these products during the festive Q4 shopping period demonstrates that consumer confidence in these products is at an all-time high. Consumers are clearly reacting well to the growing variety of voucher products on offer, particularly those which can be redeemed in multiple outlets.
“Overall 2014 has been an incredibly successful year for the gift card and voucher market, and although we predicted B2C growth, the rate at which it has occurred has far outstripped our expectations.”
