Gift cards show sales growth in Q4 2009

The UK Gift Card and Voucher Association (UKGCVA) has released sales data that reveals sales of gift cards and vouchers showed growth in quarter four (Q4) of 2009.

Compiled as part of the British Retail Consortium's full sales data report on the retail sector, members of the UKGCVA - including high-street retailers, department stores, supermarkets, online retailers, B2B agencies and industry service providers - submitted their data for sales of gift card and voucher products to form an authoritative overview of the industry.

Overall, for Q4 2009, sales of gift cards and vouchers grew by 3.7 per cent, with pronounced Christmas sales when compared with the same period in 2008.

This growth was largely underpinned by sales to the consumer market, which alone grew by 4.1 per cent, comparing favourably with the growth of the wider retail sector at 3.3 per cent.

Supermarkets performed well, with sales up by 39 per cent in Q4 2009 compared with 2008, while department stores also experienced a successful final quarter.

The leisure sector also stood out, making good headway with growth of 15.7 per cent in Q4 2009, compared with Q4 2008.

Direct sales to the customer grew by 5.8 per cent and this remains the most popular channel.

Online purchases were up by 27 per cent for Q4, and sales via gift card centres - where multiple brands can be found in one display within a host store - doubled.

The business-to-business sector, where gift cards and vouchers are commonly used as corporate gifts, rewards and incentives, performed well, experiencing growth of 2.8 per cent.

One significant area of growth within the B2B sector was the gains of open-loop gift cards with sales up by 70 per cent year-on-year.

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