Everyone Loves eGifting (For Themselves And Others)

In a recently released piece of data that will likely surprise no one who has been watching the trends in shopping, digital eGift usage is growing, particularly when it comes to cards.

Which isn’t to say that consumers have given up on the plastic — 89 percent of consumers have bought a plastic gift card in the last year, though 71 percent of those same customers also noted that they had purchased at least one eGift during the same timeframe.

Blackhawk’s eGift Misconceptions Survey also noted that, of about 1,100 people surveyed, only 13 percent of respondents said they have purchased a gift card from an exchange site, while 78 percent said they would feel moderately to extremely safe about purchasing a gift card on a gift card exchange site. A little under half, about 48 percent, said they would consider using an exchange service to buy or sell gift cards. The survey also demonstrated that about a little under half of all consumers bought gift cards both for others and for themselves, and 78 percent noted they would be more likely to buy them for themselves if said gift cards were sold at a discount.

The main factors driving gift card purchases seemed to be ease of purchase and delivery — 91 percent of consumers asked said they were “quick and easy” to buy. About 30 percent tried to match the gift to the recipient specifically.

A majority — 71 percent — reported it was easier to use a gift card online, though not losing or wasting them were both noted as important benefits of the digital version of gift cards.