Capital One Gift Card Report Offers Useful Insights on Consumer Behaviors
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Click here to subscribe to the RNN newsletter.If what people do at retail is of any interest, this recent report from Capital One on gift cards offers some interesting insights applicable to the business market. Among the many interesting findings, over two-thirds of consumers buy gift cards specific to a store and the percentage who do not use all their card value grows with income. Click here for the full report.
Overall, the report values the gift card market at $1.24 trillion in 2024 and is expected to reach $2.31 trillion by 2030. It says the average value of a gift card is $47.91; that 43% of American adults have unused gift cards and
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that the total value of these unspent funds in the US is around $23 billion. One in four people who report losing money to fraud to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) say it involved giving numbers off the back of a gift card.Here are other interesting findings from the comprehensive report.
- 90% of people consider physical gift cards an appropriate item to gift.
- 72% of holiday gift card buyers want recipients to be able to choose their own gifts.
- 65% of holiday gift card shoppers purchase directly from the retailer where the card will be used.
- 64% of gift cards purchased are “closed-loop,” designated for a specific store, restaurant, or chain, making them the most popular type of gift card.
- 61% of consumers spend more than a gift card’s value when redeeming, for an average of $31.75 more than the card’s value.
- Consumers purchase gift cards for themselves with an average value of $51.93, for an 8.4% higher value than cards purchased as gifts.
- Less than 7% of holiday gift recipients would expect to receive a gift card with a balance under $25.
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On average, Americans have unused gift cards totaling $244 each. Americans use their gift cards less than in the past, with a 30.5% increase in average unused gift card value between 2023 and 2024. - 20% of people have had at least one gift certificate expire before redeeming, making this the primary reason cards go unused.
- 41% give gift cards as holiday gifts because they are easy to order, wrap, and give; 33% don’t know what to purchase.
- 47% of holiday gift card recipients expect a minimum card balance of $25; 38% expect gift cards worth $50 or more.
- Consumers born between the years 1981 and 1996 (commonly referred to as Millennials) spend the most on gift cards at $456 per year.
- Consumers born between 1965 and 1980 (commonly referred to as Gen X) are the most likely to have unused gift cards, with an average total value of $255 in unused cards per person.
- 57% of consumers purchase gift cards from retail stores, while 52% buy restaurant gift cards.
- Only 21% of gift cards purchased are redeemable at multiple retailers.
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