#HOLIDAY GIFT CARDS PLUS#

“I don’t think that’s going to go away.”īe smart with your money. “At the end of the day, it’s the easy way out,” he said. Weintraub at Deloitte suggests the convenience means reopened malls won’t kill the gift card’s rise. Michelle Wasylyshen, national spokesperson for the council, said in an e-mail that the predicted decrease was likely owing to shoppers returning to stores in person.īut Mr. The Retail Council of Canada, meanwhile, expects gift-card spending to drop slightly – to 16 per cent of consumers’ overall holiday budget, from 21 per cent last year. Blackhawk Network estimated Canadians would spend roughly 37 per cent of their holiday budget on gift cards in 2021. How much Canadians actually plan to spend on gift cards this holiday season remains to be seen. The furniture giant, which in October said it expects supply-chain disruptions into 2022, has heavily promoted its gift card on its website. Ikea Canada is also seeing holiday gift-card sales that exceeded previous years, spokesperson Lisa Huie said in an e-mail. It has experienced roughly the same sales volume this year as in 2020, Mr.

#HOLIDAY GIFT CARDS PLUS#

From the beginning of October to late November, 2020, Long & McQuade recorded a “fairly substantial” 25 per cent increase in gift-card sales over the same time period in 2019, plus more in December. Nonetheless, the company was on track for another above-average year in gift-card sales. Jeff Long, vice-president of sales and marketing at Long & McQuade, said supply-chain challenges have likely had some effect on gift-card sales, though the musical-instruments retailer hasn’t struggled as much this year to bring product to the store floor. “With inventory tied up, Canadian consumers are more likely to turn to gift cards to secure presents under the tree, many retailers are preparing for increased gift-card popularity,” Mr. The pandemic hit the supply chain hard, with global manufacturers and distributors facing labour and raw-material shortages, higher costs and COVID-19 outbreaks – all while consumer demand experienced a sustained surge, resulting in backorders and delays on everything from apparel to appliances. “Consumers have always loved gift cards, but this holiday season is shaping up to be an even bigger year for them,” said Allister Barretto, product marketing manager at Square Canada. 30, compared with the same time last year. Among payments processor Square Canada’s customer base, the share of merchants selling physical or digital gift cards ahead of the holidays grew 21 per cent in 2021 between Oct. Retailers have recognized that consumers’ interest in gift cards is rising. Weintraub said Deloitte has found gift cards tend to be purchased more by those who describe themselves as feeling financially worse off, which he speculated may help them keep on track during the often-expensive holiday season. retailersįurther, buying gift cards might be a good way for consumers to stick to their budget. Holiday supply chain concerns drive some Canadians back into shopping mallsįlash mob robbers an unwelcome grinch for struggling U.S. Though admittedly “not as good as a gift under the tree,” they’re easy to come by, ensure the recipient gets what they want, and are a win-win for consumers and retailers alike, he said.ĭespite their reputation as the saviour of the lazy gifter, they’re also particularly well-liked by millennials: 75 per cent would prefer to receive a gift card than a physical present, according to payments processor Blackhawk Network.

Marty Weintraub, national retail lead at Deloitte Canada, said the pandemic may have accelerated a broader trend in gift-giving toward more widespread use of gift cards. Gift cards became a pandemic holiday staple last year as lockdowns across the country curtailed in-store shopping and global supply-chain issues made physical gifts hard to come by.

Holiday gift cards