Gift Cards: Mother’s Day Among Select Billion Dollar Occasions

More than a third of U.S. adults (40%) purchased a gift card in the past year, according to survey data published by Packaged Facts in the report Prepaid and Gift Cards in the U.S., 6th Edition.

The survey revealed that in the last 12 months, respondents reported spending/receiving the following amounts: 

• Spending $25.4 billion on gift cards given to others
• Spending $13.6 billion on gift cards they gave to themselves
• Receiving $3 billion worth of gift cards from their employers

In aggregate, this amounts to $42 billion. Christmas reigns as the largest gift card giving occasion by dollar value: consumers spent an estimated $9 billion on gift cards for others earmarked for Christmas. Birthday follows, with 22% of gift card spend on others. Among other holidays tracked in the survey, Mother’s Day is the only other billion-dollar contributor—Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and Easter fall successively below that amount.

Two other widely celebrated life milestone events (graduation and wedding/wedding shower) also break the billion-dollar threshold. Several occasions are not tied to an event but rather to an intention (just because, thank you, reward, congratulations). Combined, these four gift-giving occasions generate $3.2 billion, placing combined intention-driven occasions behind Christmas and birthdays.

Photo by Giftpundits