• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, July 30, 2024

Don’t wait until Black Friday week to get out those holiday emails. Over 40% of consumers have already started their seasonal shopping, according to the Q3 2024 Gift Card Gauge from Fiserv.

Here are their reasons for shopping early: 

• Promotions and discounts — 40% 
• Shop as I identify gift options — 48% 
• Spreading out my purchases — 47%
• Want to beat the holiday rush — 41%

Of those who haven't started yet, 35% are waiting for holiday shopping events.  

Whatever their timing, it should be a reasonably good year: 33% of consumers plan to spend more than they did last year, compared to 27% who planned to spend more in 2022 and 21% in 2022. 

But of the 15% whoo are planning to spend less, 66% blame inflation and higher costs.  

Perhaps because of inflation, gift cards are growing in popularity.

Of the consumers polled, 42% plan to buy them to supplement their presents, while 33% will use them to purchase gifts. Another 21% plan to purchase high-value gift cards as a main present.  

What attracts consumers to gift cards online? They cite:

• Banner ad/landing page on website — 36%
• Texts/emails for loyalty program — 29% 
• Organic social media — 22%
• Sponsored social ads — 13%

In-store, shoppers expect to see gift cards promoted in: 

• Point-of-purchase displays — 42% 
• Aisle displays — 23%
• Entrance displays — 23% 

Meanwhile, over 40% will choose retailers where they belong to a loyalty program. And, 52% will use their loyalty points to buy themselves a gift. 

Fiserv surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers in June 2024 as part of its quarterly Gift Card Gauge.