Despite an early start, study also finds that over 60% of shoppers will continue their holiday shopping well into December
The 2021 June Gift Card Gauge from Fiserv found that 56% of consumers plan on getting a jumpstart on the busy holiday season by starting their shopping before November. The study also uncovered that the holiday season is getting longer, with 61% of consumers reporting they won’t complete their holiday shopping until December.
Fiserv is a leading global provider of payments and financial services technology solutions. Additional findings from research it conducted in June 2021 include:
- 26% of consumers plan to spend more this holiday season compared to 2020.
- 64% of consumers plan to shop in-store this holiday season.
- Consumers plan on putting more on gift cards this year. The most popular gift card values:
- 25%: $20-$30 (down from 33% in 2020),
- 23%: $50-$100 (up from 18% in 2020),
- 20%: $40-$50 (up from 16% in 2020).
- 77% of consumers plan to splurge on Cyber Monday or Black Friday.
- 58% of consumers prefer to give physical gift cards during the holidays, up from 42% in 2020. Additionally, 58% of consumers prefer to receive physical gift cards as gifts, up from 39% in 2020.
- When it comes to gift card designs, consumers are likely to purchase gift cards with a holiday-themed image (41%), a wintry landscape (17%) or a patterned design (16%).
- 41% of consumers use greeting cards as their preferred means of wrapping gift cards.
“Now, more than ever, consumers are getting a jump on their holiday shopping and it’s time for merchants to take notice,” said Tom Niedbalski, Vice President, Gift Solutions, Fiserv. “To take full advantage of this year’s peak shopping season, merchants must start planning now to ensure they bring in new buyers and boost sales.”
A bi-monthly survey of over 1,000 U.S. consumers age 18 and older, the 2021 June Gift Card Gauge from Fiserv helps merchants to better understand industry trends, and how consumers use gift cards. The margin of error is +/- 3.102%.
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