National Use Your Gift Card weekend to give retailers a post-Christmas boost

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 24, 2020

This weekend, retailers are expected to enjoy a sales boost that could potentially result in over £200 million in sales, as consumers go shopping to spend their Christmas gift cards.

According to research from the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association, 44% of Britons received a gift card this Christmas, and over half of consumers will spend their vouchers within a month of receiving them.

In fact, more than half of gift cards received during the Christmas period will be spent by this Sunday, predicted the organisation, giving UK retailers a much-needed boost.

This matters because shoppers spend on average £18.55 extra when using a gift card, a 67% increase on the average value of shoppers’ gift cards (£27.64 per gift card). Based on these parameters, retailers could receive a sales boost of more than £245 million through upsold goods and in-store uplift. 

Additionally, gift cards are essential tools for building customer loyalty. According to the UK Gift Card Association, 31% of millennial and Gen Z shoppers have become a regular customer of a new brand after receiving a gift card.

The data supports the organisation’s first-ever National Use Your Gift Card weekend. Taking place on 25-26 January, the event aims to encourage consumers to make the most of their unspent gift cards.