• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, September 9, 2022

Pundits like to remind us that consumer expectations are rising.  

Are they really? Here is what consumers actually expect approaching this holiday season, according to the third-quarter 2022 Gift Card Gauge from Fiserv:

• Items being out of stock — 83% 

• (Concern about) being able to afford what they want to purchase — 74% 

• Lack of product selection — 61%

Here’s more bad news: 60% of consumers plan to spend roughly the same as they did last year, and 25% will spend less — not much room for growth.  

Of the consumers polled, 32% have already started their holiday shopping. 

Of this group, 30% are shopping earlier due to promotions and discounts, while 55% are spreading out their purchases because of high prices caused by inflation. And 38% are worried about supply chains and want to ensure they can get available items. 

One finding that may spell opportunity for ecommerce brands  is that 42% will be rely on the digital marketplace, up from 37% in 2021. 

As for timing, 39% plan to take advantage of deals on Cyber Monday, 37% on Black Friday and 12% on Small Business Saturday.   

Of course, the real purpose of this study is to highlight gift-card use, as Fiserv is a gift-card company. Sixty percent of shoppers will buy gift cards to fill in the void from limited product availability, the study found. 

So, in addition to sending out a steady stream of ecommerce messages, many email teams will be tasked with pushing out gift-card offers. 

However, fewer cards will probably be purchased online. In 2021, 41% bought from online-only retailers, 33% from discount/big-box stores and 26% from coffee shops.  

This year, only 38% will buy from online-only retailers, 42% from discount/big box stores and 32% from coffee shops. 

The change may be due to the fact that  66% prefer to give physical gift cards (up from 58% in 2021), and that 58% would like to receive them (versus 43% last year).  

But the value levels will be pretty much the same as they were in 2021: 25% will put $20 to $30 on the gift card, 20% will put $50 to $100 on it and 19% will put $40 to $50 on.

The one hole in this study is that gift cards seem to be a more appropriate gift for friends and colleagues rather than close relatives: the increased online sales probably reflect serious gifting. 

You don’t want to be the spouse who picks up a gift card in Starbucks on Christmas Eve and says, “Merry Christmas, honey.”  

Fiserv’s Gift Card Gauge is a quarterly poll of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers.