GiftCard Partners Blog

Consumers have begun an organic transition into mobile payments and digital currencies. They are slowly filing cash, check, and credit cards right into the history book, next to the floppy disks and video tapes.

In a Pivotal Year for Prepaid Rewards, Digital Takes the Lead—Without Leaving Physical Behind

The prepaid industry is entering a defining moment. While gift cards remain a staple of consumer and incentive programs, new research shows that prepaid products are evolving beyond one-time gifting into flexible, digital-first assets that support ongoing engagement, self-use, and long-term value.

I am quite familiar with QVC; I can’t say I’ve shopped QVC, but I DO expect to have many gifts under my tree in big brown QVC boxes for Christmas. In fact, approximately 99.9% of all gifts given to me by my parents since about 1990 came from QVC. Although they are most known for their televised shopping experience, the online channel now accounts for more than 1/3rd of their sales. Their recent partnership with CashStar will leverage CashStar’s “digital gifting and incentives platform to provide a personal, compelling and convenient gifting experience”, says CashStar in their recent press release. I for one, would love an eGift Card from QVC, so I can pick my own QVC gift this year…I’ve never known how to return the gifts my parents get me…and frankly I pick out better gifts for myself. Read more on this interesting integration of TV, online, gift cards, and the eGift:
CashStar to Power QVC's eGfit Card Program

Prepaid and gift cards sales are amplified with new activity as technology paves the way to better than expected growth. Mercator Advisory Group recently reported that all segments of closed-loop prepaid exceeded their previous forecasts for 2010. In-store gift cards were forecasted at 4% growth for 2010, but total load volume hit $84.6 billion, up 10% from $76.9 in 2009. The B2B gift card market realizes much of this growth via gift card categories like digital-content (online games and social networking credit) and prepaid mobile; gift cards received more loads for these digital-content activities. Retailers are also doing a better job of integrating their gift cards with loyalty programs and other consumer promotions, which catches the attention of potential incentive and rewards buyers. “Loads on employee and partner incentive closed-loop cards increased 10% and loads on consumer-incentive cards also grew 10%”, states Digital Transactions in their Mercator report overview:
Buoyed by Gift Cards, Closed-Loop Prepaid Grew Faster Than Expected in 2010 “On the whole, what we’re seeing is even the closed-loop market is showing some resilience in the face of the economy,” Jackson says. Consumers seem to be recognizing the true value of their gift cards, and “many retailers are doing a better job of integrating their gift cards with loyalty programs and other promotions, Jackson says. “They’re realizing that gift cards are not just a plastic version of paper gift certificates,” he says. Source:
Digital Transactions: Buoyed by Gift Cards, Closed-Loop Prepaid Grew Faster Than Expected in 2010
 

The B2B gift card landscape has continued to evolve rapidly, with the first quarter of 2024 presenting new trends and insights that are reshaping the industry. The holiday season of 2023 was particularly robust, exceeding our expectations in both consumer and corporate sectors. This report provides a comprehensive look at the latest trends, statistics, and projections for 2024, based on recent market data and our proprietary survey results.