An estimated £2bn will be spent on gift cards and vouchers in the run up to Christmas, according to the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (UKGCVA).
The trade body, who represent the key players in the £4.7 billion gift voucher, cards and stored value solutions market, say gift card and voucher growth has been consistently strong throughout the year.
UKGCVA predict if the Christmas spending estimate is met it will be the strongest end to a year since industry records have begun.
“Whilst the wider retail industry has seen fluctuating purchasing behaviour from consumers over the past year, gift cards and vouchers appear to have been an exception to this rule,” explained Andrew Johnson, director-general of the UKGCVA.
“It‘s both interesting and encouraging to see evidence that consumer confidence in gift cards and vouchers seems to have been relatively unaffected by fall-out from high street administrations and issues around voucher redemption earlier this year.”
Mr Johnson added: “We have witnessed strong growth from the corporate sector this year too. We don‘t expect this to slow anytime soon either, especially as more and more companies see the benefits of using vouchers as part of customer incentive or employee reward schemes during the Christmas period.”
