Gift Cards Market

The Gift Cards Market is valued at USD 745.6 Bn in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 1959.3 Bn, growing at a CAGR of 15% by 2033.

Market Analysis in Brief

The gift cards industry is experiencing growth on the back of evolving consumer preferences, higher convenience, and versatility. Although the first gift card was introduced way back in the mid-1990s, it only gained stronger ground in the early 2000s and has been expanding ever since. This growth can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, gift cards provide recipients with the freedom to choose products or experiences they desire, enhancing the gifting experience. Secondly, the rise of e-commerce and digital payments has facilitated the adoption of electronic gift cards, making them easily accessible and usable online. Additionally, businesses recognise the strategic value of gift card programs in boosting sales, attracting new customers, and fostering brand loyalty. The gift cards market has not only adapted to changing consumer behaviour but has also capitalised on emerging trends, making it a dynamic and continuously growing sector in the retail and finance industries. 

Key Report Findings

• Growing usage of gift cards by online storeowners, retailers, and other businesses as an effective means of customer satisfaction will drive market growth.
• The gift cards market size is all set to see approximately 2.3x expansion over 2026 - 2033.
• Technological advancements like personalised designs, mobile wallet integration, and blockchain-based solutions are responsible for elevating the growth prospects of the gift cards market.
• Demand will be the highest across B2C sector.
• Restaurants and discount stores remain dominant when it comes to creating demand for gift cards.
• North America’s gift cards industry will retain the lead throughout the period of forecast.

Growth Drivers

Growing Perception of Gift Cards as a Unique and Thoughtful Gift

A gift card is a prepaid card that holds a specific monetary value and can be used to make purchases at designated retailers, online stores, or businesses. Gift cards are commonly used for gifting purposes, allowing the recipient to choose their preferred products or services within the specified value. Gift card, also referred to as gift voucher or gift certificate or gift token, is prepaid money card typically used as a gift item. These cards may be issued by banks, retailer, stores, and restaurants as a prepaid money value to be used as an alternative to real cash.

Gift cards eliminate the headache of choosing the perfect gift, as the recipient can use the stored money as per their wish. In general, gift cards do not facilitate cashing out and may have an expiry date. Gift cards are among the most promising ways for retailing companies to improve sales, customer loyalty and increase brand awareness. There has been growing popularity of digital wallets amongst the millennials. Increasing awareness about mobile wallets along with consistently growing e-commerce activities will drive the demand for gift cards across the globe. Rewards and incentives are another factor expected to boost the demand for gift card.  

Consumer Inclination Toward Gift Personalisation

Gift cards is classified into three major categories, viz., open loop, closed loop, and e-gifting. With more than 40% share, closed loop gift cards held the highest share in 2025. Closed loop gift cards are tied to a specific brand, closed loop gift cards can also help drive customer loyalty and increase foot traffic to the issuing stores. They are commonly used for special occasions, holidays, and personal gifting.

In the past few years, there has been expansion of e-commerce, especially smartphones and the new e-gift incentive policy offered by more and more companies. Furthermore, there has been shift in consumer preference towards personalisation of gifts. These factors are likely to boost the demand for e-gift cards. The e-gift card demand is projected to grow with a CAGR of 11% between 2026 and 2033.

Overview of Key Segments

Restaurants and Discount Stores Dominate Gift Card Consumption

In 2025, the global gift cards market stood over US$800 Bn with restaurants remaining the most popular choice. The segment accounted for over 30% of the global gift card market. Gift cards has always been the most important strategy for restaurants to increase publicity, customer loyalty, referrals, and improved engagement with customers. Changing lifestyle and increasing number of restaurant chains across developing economies is expected to lift the sales of the gift cards across the major regions.  

Discount stores is another major segment contributing to the global gift cards market. The segment generated a revenue of over US$200 Bn in 2025 and is expected to exhibit stable growth over the forecast period. With rise in urbanisation and increased digital adoption coupled with changing consumer preferences the sale of gift cards through discount stores merchant segment is projected to grow.     

B2C Sector Continues to Generate Higher Demand

In 2025, B2C segment accounted for more than 3/4^th of the total gift cards market. Post-pandemic, there has been uplift in the sales for B2C segment and were largely driven by in-store sales. When it comes to B2C segment majority of the purchases are directly from retailers as well as gift card issuers, and in-stores. However, in past few years, purchases of gift cards through these popular channels have been receding. There has been growing popularity of digital channels and this segment will drive the market over the next few years. 

B2B is another key segment in the global gift cards market. This market is primarily driven by consumer expenditure via work programmes, and the value of gift cards that shoppers receive as part of loyalty, rewards, and incentives. B2B routes continue to be important for the industry and will represent a perfect opportunity for merchants to strengthen their position in the market in the coming years. The revenue forecasts for the segment looks strong and offer the opportunity to include on a major source of revenue to their businesses.   

Growth Opportunities Across Regions

North America Takes the Charge

In 2025, North America accounted for more than 45% of the global gift cards market. The US, holding a major share in North America has a popular gift card culture. The US has a strong gifting custom, with occasions such as religious holidays, birthdays, weddings, and anniversaries driving demand for gift cards. Post-pandemic, the demand for e-gifting has been accelerated with rise in e-commerce activities and increasing usage of gift cards from the millennials.

Europe Captures a Significant Position

Shift of the consumers towards omnichannel for gift cards has been driving strategic collaborations in between the stakeholders. In Europe, rising e-commerce and m-commerce activities, coupled with growing demand from corporate sector, are likely to boost the gift cards market. Gift cards offer convenience to both buyers and recipients, allowing recipients. Countries such as Germany, the UK, France, Italy are likely to exhibit impressive growth rates over the next few years.

Asia Pacific is predicted to be the fastest growing region for gift cards.  Rapid growth of economy, growing population, increasing urbanisation, and changing technological advancement to propel the growth of gift cards industry in the region. India, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia are amongst the fastest growing countries in the gift cards market. Higher smartphone penetration and the adoption of digital payment systems have facilitated the use of digital gift cards in the region.

Competitive Landscape Analysis: Gift Cards Industry

Strategic Collaborations Will be the Key to Unlock Full Potential of Digital Gift Cards

A majority of the players in the gift cards market are focused on the local/domestic as well as regional markets. Companies are targeting strategic collaborations to strengthen their business footprint across the regions. Companies such as:

• Amazon Inc.
• Apple Inc.
•  Best Buy Co. Inc.
• Blackhawk Network Holdings, Inc.
• Edenred
• Global Payments Direct, Inc.
• First Data Corporation
• InComm Payments
• NGC US, LLC.
• Pine Labs
• Starbucks Corporation
• Target Corporation

Global Gift Cards Market is Segmented as Below:

By Type

• Open Loop
• Closed Loop
• E-gifting
• Miscellaneous

By Merchant

• Restaurants
• Discount Stores
• Supermarkets/Hypermarkets
• Coffee Shops
• Miscellaneous

By Price Range

• Low (0-200 US$)
• Medium (200-400 US$)
• High (Above 400 US$)

By End User

• B2B
• B2C

By Geographic Coverage

• North America 
• Europe 
• Asia Pacific 
• Latin America 
• Middle East & Africa