2019 Holiday Season Gift Card Survey

About The 2019 Holiday Gift Card Study

Gift Card Granny conducted its annual survey to determine the latest gift card usage and trends for the 2019 holiday season. More than 2,500 US-based consumers who have visited www.giftcardgranny.com provided responses. Topics such as most popular retailers, purchasing behavior and digital gift card growth were analyzed. 

• Amazon is the favored retailer for holiday shopping for the third year in a row
• Fifty-five percent of respondents indicate they have used a mobile app to purchase a gift card, an increase of eight percentage points from 2018 and a growth of eleven percentage points from 2017
• Eighty-seven percent of respondents have purchased an eGift card or digital gift card

Behavior: Purchasing And Use

Consumers (31%) typically purchase seven or more gift cards a year for the purpose of giving a present; for example, birthdays, weddings, etc. Additionally, the majority of respondents (36%) state they buy seven or more gift cards a year for personal use. Fifty-four percent of consumers disclose they have purchased a gift card based on a promotion such as extra reward points, cash back rewards or buy one, get one offers. Moreover, 63% of respondents claim to have lost a gift card.

Top Online Retailers For Holiday Shopping

The majority of respondents plan to utilize Amazon (54%) for their shopping needs this holiday season. Other popular retailers include Walmart (14%), Target (9%), Kohl’s (6%) and Macy’s (2%).

Digital Trends

Digital gift card popularity has not increased; in 2018 and 2019, 87% of consumers claim to have purchased an eGift card. Thirty-three percent of all respondents prefer digital gift cards over physical, while 32% prefer physical and 35% have no preference. 

Younger consumers are more likely to prefer electronic gift cards. Among millennials aged 25 to 34, 51% favor eGift cards while 31% have no preference. However, the majority (51%) of baby boomers aged 55 or older prefer plastic.

Additionally, fifty-five percent of respondents indicate they have used a mobile app to purchase a gift card, an increase of eight percentage points from 2018 and a growth of eleven percentage points from 2017. 

Survey Methods

Results for this Gift Card Granny poll are based on survey responses from December 4, 2019 through December 27, 2019 with a sample of adults aged 18 and older who have visited www.giftcardgranny.com. For results based on the total sample of 2,655, the margin of sampling error is two percentage points at the 98% confidence level.  

View full question responses and trends. For press inquiries contact pr@giftcardgranny.com.