Not only can a gift card be used for giving as a present, it also has many other uses, with one of the newer trends being purchasing a gift card for self-use. People are creative and always look for a way to maximize their return on a dollars spent. “It really doesn’t surprise me that people are using gift cards for their own needs, it makes sense if you do not have a debit card attached to a checking account or a credit card” to utilize this method of payment.
Gift cards are no longer just for gift-givers. Shoppers are purchasing gift cards for themselves at an increasing rate. Sixty-two percent of consumers ages 18-34 self-purchased a gift card in 2017, and the majority of Gen Xers (60 percent) and baby boomers (54 percent) also took part in the trend. These shoppers cited discounts (37 percent), loyalty/awards programs (35 percent), and online shopping (27 percent) as their biggest incentives for self-purchasing gift cards.
You will also notice that age really has very little to do with whether a person self-purchases or not, it has to do with their individual financial situation.
Overview by Sue Brown, Director, Prepaid Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
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