Gift vouchers on the increase

More than half of consumers are likely to give a gift card or voucher this Christmas in an industry worth more than 5 million pounds.

According to new figures released by The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association, some 57 percent of consumers are likely to gift a voucher, up from 49 percent last year, showing that gift cards at Christmas are increasing in popularity.

The survey of 2,000 consumers, carried out by YouGov Plc, found that it was in line with recent industry data from BDO that showed consumer sales of gift cards and vouchers grew 9.71 percent in the third quarter of 2014.

Andrew Johnson, director-general of the UKGCVA, said: “This data reflects a very exciting time for the industry. With a clear increase on last year’s results, we can see the growth that the gift card and voucher market is currently experiencing. We have witnessed a solid increase in popularity of gift cards and vouchers over recent years and are now anticipating that the run up to Christmas 2014 will be the most promising period to date.”

With regards to what kind of gift vouchers are being bought this Christmas, a quarter of consumers said they would be gifting a retail or fashion voucher, while 23 percent were opting for multi-choice vouchers that can be redeemed at multiple retailers.

In addition, the survey also found that consumers overwhelmingly prefer physical gift cards or voucher over digital ones, with only 18 percent citing that they would prefer to be given an online voucher that can be received and redeemed online.