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.
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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