Comdata Surveys Consumers About Gift Card Malls

A gift card mall is a centralized location of gift cards from various retailers. They are typically found in grocery stores, drugstores and convenience stores. For example, purchasers can buy cards from several major retailers while they pick up a prescription or shop for groceries, combining gift giving errands with the tasks they have to complete every day.

“This research confirms what we’ve heard from many of our clients: Consumers love the convenience of one-stop shopping,” said Bob Skiba, executive vice president and general manager of Comdata’s retail division, which sponsored the research. “We are very excited to see that the popularity of gift card malls continues to grow each year.”

Survey highlights include:

• Four out of five consumers participating in the survey say that they would prefer to receive a gift card from a favorite store rather than a gift chosen for them by the giver.
• 53 percent of adults say they would be very or somewhat likely to purchase a gift card at a kiosk or cart at an airport or shopping mall.
• Purchasers loaded a higher average dollar amount on the cards they gave, with per capita spending increasing 15 percent.
• Three recipients out of five report that they have redeemed all of the gift cards they received in the past holiday season.
• One-quarter of purchasers bought one or more gift cards online. Of those, approximately one-third indicated that this was the first time they had purchased a gift card through the Internet.
• 53 percent of respondents say they often spend more than the original amount on the gift card, adding an average of 17 percent.
• One-third of respondents are interested in a gift card that allows them to record a personal message.

“We were interested to see that consumers are loading more money onto gift cards; this shows us that they’re using these cards as the primary gift for others,” said Skiba. “As more retailers offer gift cards, we see the average amount on gift cards increase as consumers give gifts for bigger ticket items, such as appliances or electronics. Gift cards continue to be an extremely popular gift choice, and we don’t see the culture changing anytime soon.”