Gift Cards Push Holidays

"The popularity of gift cards dramatically changes the retail landscape and extends holiday shopping well into January," Janet Hoffman, managing partner of Accenture's Retail practice in North America, said in a statement announcing the survey results. "Successful retailers will analyze and adapt their inventory, merchandising, promotions and pricing to accommodate the new behaviors and needs of gift card givers and recipients."

Of the 526 people who responded to the survey, 82%, or more than four out of five people, said they gave or received gift cards during the holidays and two-thirds, or 66%, said they both gave and received the cards. The survey also showed that 81% already used their gift cards, 43% said they planned to spend their cards within one month of receiving them and nearly 63 % said they would spend the entire value of their gift card in a single store visit. Almost half of the respondents, or 47%, said they spent more than the value of the gift card while 55% said they used it to purchase something they would not normally buy.

Hoffman said the popularity of the cards could change the holiday shopping season as retailers find more cards than products are sold in the weeks leading up to the holiday. Retailers also may focus less on markdowns during the post holiday season as gift card recipients return to stores to spend the cards on merchandise, she said.

The survey, which was conducted this month, also showed that 85% or respondents purchased gift cards in amounts up to $50 while 12% purchased them for amounts up to $100. Only 3% bought gift cards valued at more than $100. Of the 526 consumers surveyed, 73% said they gave between one and six cards during the holiday season, with 19% saying they spent more on a gift card than they would on a gift. A majority of buyers, or 91%, said they went to a store to make a gift card purchase and almost half, or 49%, said they bought the cards because it was either more convenient or because they didn't know what to buy as a gift.