Are Your Gift Card Sales Down?

Are your gift card sales taking a hit during the troubling economic times? If so, you are not on an island, according to a recent MediaPost article (Even Gift Cards Get the Blues) .

Across the board, consumers are buying fewer numbers of gift cards and they are placing less money on the cards they do buy (according to the Hartman Group). Despite the fact that gift cards remain the gift of choice for many shoppers and people love receiving them, people just don't have the amount of disposable income to spend in 2008.

The survey by the Hartman Group also revealed that 1/3 of consumers are consciously planning on cutting back their gift-card spending during the holiday season, meaning that teams will be without a revenue source that they have become accustomed to over the past few years. However, team gift cards will not be affected as much as retailers, who depender heavier on gift card purchases made by consumers with less disposable income.

Who will still be the main purchasers of gift cards in the Fall of 2008?

• 60% of consumers plan to purchase at least one gift card (the average person purchases four (4) gift cards)
• Women ages 18-24 and parents with kids under the age of 18 are the most likely buyers
• Consumers with 75K HHI plan to buy 5.64 cards; consumers that make less than $75K plan to buy 3.98 cards