Recent Developments in the Gift Card Industry

In January 2025, PAR Technology announced the launch of its new gift card solution called PAR Gift, this is specially designed to help retailers and restaurants to provide seamless gifting options. This new launch will unlock new growth opportunities.

This new solution helps the business to enhance customer engagement by making the purchase and redemption process of gift cards easy. It will help in driving demand among those retailers who are struggling with complex gift card solutions.

In September 2024, Tata Neu announced the launch of its “Gift Card Store” during the festive season. This new launch aims to provide a wide range of gifting options to the consumer. These new stores include over 100 brands of different categories including both non-Tata and Tata brands.

The company provides more than 100 brands which will lead to a large consumer base. By using Tata and Non-Tata initiatives companies are now encouraging customers to use gift these gift cards.

In May 2024, Pine Labs Pvt. partnered with technology giant Google for easy integration of its gift card product with the Google wallet platform that was recently introduced in India.

This partnership will help the consumer to store and use their gift cards digitally. This will also lead to increasing consumer preference for digital cards.

In December 2024, worldwide branded payments leader Blackhawk Network (BHN) joined forces with the popular messaging app Snapchat to provide physical gift cards for their Snapchat+ subscription level. Snapchat+ gift cards are currently available online and in-store at major retailers nationwide through BHN's extensive distribution network.

This partnership is considered an example of convergence between physical gift cards and digital services. This new collaboration will change the way people think about subscriptions as giftable items.

In September 2023, ONDC introduced the launch of its new “ONDC Network Gift Card.” These gift cards are best for empowering companies for corporate gifting and employee engagement. Consumers are now able to shop around thousands of cards on the network by using this application.

This launch provides an opportunity for corporate gifting and employee engagement. This allows the users to choose from thousands of brands and products. This also encourages businesses to go with digital cards for incentives and rewards.

Based on Coherent Market Insights (CMI), the gift card industry is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.0% during the forecast period. The size of the overall industry is expected to be US$ 3,705.24 billion in 2032. This spectacular growth indicates the growing use of gift cards as presents and as instruments for controlling individual expenses. The increased uptake of digital gift cards and the enhanced position these now hold within the e-commerce space is powering this growth.

Increasing incorporation into loyalty schemes and online wallets is also a reason the segment is increasing. Businesses are taking on the use of gift cards within marketing and retaining clients more aggressively, further cementing the dominance of gift card commands within the marketplace.

Source:

Business Wire

Time of India

Business line