• by Jess Nelson , December 24, 2015

For the ninth year in a row gift cards are the most requested gift item for the holidays, according to the National Retail Federation's annual holiday survey. Luckily for email marketers and procrastinators alike, gift cards can be sent directly to a gift recipient's inbox through email.

Some 58.8% of consumers participating in a survey said gift cards were their most requested gift. The poll of more than 7,000 consumers by the National Retail Federation finds 52.2% of consumers hope to unwrap clothing or clothing accessories Christmas morning, while 40.5% said they want books, CDs, DVDs or video games.

Last minute shoppers simply need an email address to send the gift. 

One option is eGifter, an online and mobile social giving application that allows consumers to send e-gift cards to friends, family or even themselves. Participating companies include GameStop, Target, Best Buy and 200+ gift card brands.

Businesses and marketers can also find value in eGifter’s solution by leveraging it’s eGifter Marketplace as a new distribution channel. Retailers can attach a special promotion to gift certificates to share them via email, online, or through social media channels.

Retailer giants Amazon and eBay also offer a buyer’s marketplace for gift cards, which often include an additional percentage off as a holiday promotion. Examples include a $100 gift card to Toys-R-Us for $90 and a $50 Sephora gift certificate for $45. All gift cards can be emailed to the recipient or printed.

Popular subscription services can also be gifted to recipients via email, including Netflix, Amazon Prime and Spotify Premium. Bookworms may find joy in a subscription to Texture, a digital magazine reading service, or Scribd, an online library of novels, comics, sheet music and audiobooks.

Email marketers would be wise to take advantage of procrastinators’ needs for last-minute gifts by leveraging email-based gift cards in their marketing outreach. There is still an opportunity for marketers especially considering how 38% of Americans will finish their holiday shopping in the last 48 hours before Christmas, per Citi Price Rewind.