Sales of gift cards show Q3 increase

Sales of gift cards and vouchers to consumers grew by 13 per cent in the third quarter of 2013 according to the latest statistics from The UK Gift Card and Voucher Association.

The trade body, which represents the key players in the £4.7 billion gift voucher, cards and ‘stored value solutions’ market, attributes this increase to the 5.64 per cent growth experienced across the gifts industry (which includes jewellery) in the same quarter.

The report, compiled independently by accountancy firm BDO, said that significant growth was seen across different types of consumer gift card sales.

The largest contributor the ‘specific gift cards’ category, which made up almost 80 per cent of consumer sales and a third of the total market. The ‘multi-choice’ category also performed well, growing 67 per cent.

Image: Arvind Grover