The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a change in consumer and corporate gift card purchase behavior. These changes have made the ability to forecast spending on gift cards a challenge.

Therefore, RGCA commissioned a consumer research study aimed at understanding how consumer behavior related to gift card purchasing has changed during the COVID pandemic, estimate the extent to which gift card purchasing within the next 6 months will differ compared to prior years, and determine sentiment and acceptance of e-gift cards versus physical plastic cards.

The results have been posted to the members-only section of our website.

Steve Bradbery is SVP North American and Canada at Savvy.

How long have you been in the gift card industry? Since June 2005 – I helped set up some of the first gift card programs in the UK.

What’s one fun non-gift card related fact about you? I went to the same school as Mick Jagger (not the same year!) and had his trigonometry text book that he had signed when he was 14.

What is something you think our members should know about gift cards? Know your numbers to understand and take advantage of how the business moves – one of the great reasons why the RGCA helps understand the dynamics across a range of business types.

Several RGCA retail members participated in our holiday media tours. These opportunities showcased gift cards from these brands as excellent options for holiday giving.

Each media tour received more than 434 placements, including major markets like Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., with more than 5.9 million impressions.  

If you're interested in a future television opportunity, keep an eye out for information on the 2021 media tours or email Heidi Weinstein at heidi@fletchergroupllc.com.

We're taking a few weeks off for the holidays, but will be back for insightful converation on January 7.

What do you want to chat about? Email your ideas to mflanagan@thergca.org.

RGCA

mflanagan@thergca.org