IGCC Releases Gift Card Benchmarking Survey Results September 11, 2008 Findings reveal gift card trends in the incentive industry
By Jeanie Casison
The findings of the Incentive Gift Card Council (IGCC) Benchmarking Survey, conducted during the Incentive Marketing Association 9th Annual Executive Summit in Boston, provide an interesting account of the constantly evolving marketplace.
According to the participants of the IGCC survey, which included b-to-b resellers and distributors, gift card providers, retailers, consultants and third party vendors, the gift card industry is a mature market with 65.8 percent of respondents indicating that they have been working in the gift card industry for four or more years, 80 percent of providers saying that they have had a gift card in the market for four or more years, and more than 75 percent of reseller/distributor programs featuring gift cards. As for the most appealing category, resellers and distributors ranked restaurant gift cards as most popular (31 percent) followed by department store and apparel gift cards (25 percent).
Other survey highlights focused on gift card offerings. The majority, 62 percent, of gift card providers said that they only offer physical gift cards, while 38 percent offer both physical and virtual products. Additionally 64 percent of respondents said their b-to-b and incentive customers cannot purchase gift cards online, while 36 percent indicated that they offer this service. When it comes to redemption, 69 percent of respondents said that their b-to-b gift cards can be redeemed online, while 31 percent said they could not.
As for customization there is still room for opportunity as 50 percent of respondents said that their gift card products could be personalized, and 50 percent said their gift cards could not. The majority of respondents, 67 percent, do not offer physical co-branding, while 46 percent offer the option.
Results of this survey will be further discussed during the IGCC Membership Meeting on September 22 at Chicago at McCormick Place.
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