Middle East and Africa Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Report 2022-2026: Bitrefill Partners with Physical Stores to Enable Crypto Purchases Through Gift Cards in South Africa

DUBLIN, March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Middle East and Africa Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook) - Q1 2022 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

MEA's gift card industry in the country is expected to reach US$10904.8 million in 2022. Historically, the gift card market in Africa and Middle East has recorded a steady growth with a CAGR of 11.8% during 2016-2020. 

Despite near-term challenges in 2022, medium to long term growth story of gift cards in Africa and Middle East remains strong. The gift card industry in Africa and Middle East is expected to grow steadily in H1 2022 and record a strong growth in H2 2022. The growth momentum is expected to continue to grow over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 11.4% during 2022-2026. The gift card market in the country will increase from US$9555.0 million in 2021 to reach US$16817.1 million by 2026.

Gift card market in 2021 was driven a wide range of factors, which supported growth across retail and corporate segments. The primary factors included growth of ecommerce, increased adoption to incentivize employees working remotely, digital gifting, and initiatives undertaken by government, hospitality, and travel industries to revive growth. Though the gift card market was impacted due to COVID-19, the market is expected to bounce back in the coming quarters, especially in H1 2022.

Gift card industry in Africa and Middle East has done well to withstand the impact of economic slowdown along with negative business and consumer sentiment due to disruption caused by Covid-19 outbreak.

In recent years, the Middle East and Africa region has become a destination with strong growth opportunities for gift card providers. The demand for gift cards among millennials and the unbanked population has increased many folds since the onset of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Moreover, with the growing interest in cryptocurrencies, gift card providers are focusing on integrating crypto trading with gift cards in this region. The trend is expected to remain the same in the next four to six quarters, further supporting the market growth.

Increasing product launches expected to further boost gift card adoption among consumers in the UAE

As the popularity of gift cards among consumers continues to rise, several new product launches have happened over the last few quarters in the UAE. In October 2021, YouGotaGift, one of the leading digital gift card providers in the country, announced the launch of new gift card products for The Blue Salon and Kunooz.

With hundreds of thousands of Indians residing in the United Arab Emirates, YouGotaGift also launched Kalyan Jewellers gift cards during the Diwali Celebration week in November 2021. As the popularity of gift cards continues to grow in the country, the publisher expects more product launches over the next four to eight quarters. This will subsequently assist the growth of the gift card market in the UAE from the short to medium-term perspective.

Global payments firms are launching gift card services for consumers in the UAE

As the popularity of gift card payment methods continues to grow in the GCC region, global payments firms are entering the market to capitalize on the opportunity and gain market share. 

In June 2021, Dutch payments fintech, Recharge.com, announced the launch of its services, including gift cards, in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The fast-growing startup puts its focus on a number of global brands, including Netflix, Spotify, and Xbox. Notably, the firm has experienced rapid growth over the last few quarters following the rising popularity of digital gift cards. Its launch in the UAE follows the recent US$12 million debt funding round, which the firm raised to expand its presence internationally.

The publisher expects more global gift cards players and fintech firms to launch their services in the United Arab Emirates over the next four to eight quarters, which will subsequently drive the growth of the market from the short to medium-term perspective.

Bitrefill partners with physical stores to enable crypto purchases through gift cards in South Africa

The popularity of cryptocurrencies has surged over the last few quarters in South Africa. With this surge in popularity, global payments are entering the South African market through strategic partnerships with physical stores that allow consumers to pay for their purchases in crypto through gift vouchers. 

In November 2021, Bitrefill, the global payments firm, launched its services in South Africa. The firm allows consumers to convert their cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins into gift cards at the point-of-sale transactions. Since its launch in the country, Bitrefill has entered into strategic partnerships with several physical stores such as Pick n Pay, Cape Union Mart, Incredible Connection, and Toys R Us, among others.

Apart from physical stores, the firm has partnered with online retailers as well including Mr Delivery, Grabitall, and Netflorist. The entry of Bitrefill in the South African market will allow consumers to pay using their bitcoins across several industries, including telcos, brick-and-mortar stores, as well as restaurants. Currently, Bitrefill offers support for major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and USDT.

Scope

Total Spend on Gifts

• By Consumer Segment (Retail and Corporate)
• By Product Categories (13 Segments)
• By Retail Sectors (7 Segments)

Gift Card Market Size by KPIs across Consumer Segments

• Gross Load Value
• Transaction Value
• Unused Value
• Average Value Per Transaction
• Transaction Volume
• Average Value of Card Purchased
• Number of Cards

Gift Card Market Size by Consumer Segment

• Retail Consumer
• Corporate Consumer (Small Scale, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise)

Digital Gift Card Market Size

• By Retail Consumer
• By Retail Purchase Occasion
• By Corporate Consumer
• By Corporate Purchase Occasion
• By Company Size

Gift Card Market Size by Retail Consumer

• By Functional Attribute
• By Occasion1. Festivals & Special Celebration Days
  2. Milestone Celebration
  3. Self-Use
  4. Other
• Value by Purchase Channel

Gift Card Spend by Consumer Behavior and Demographics

• Consumer Purchase Behaviour
• Gift Card Buyer by Age Group
• Gift Card Buyer by Income Level
• Gift Card Buyer by Gender

Gift Card Market Size by Corporate Consumer

• By Functional Attribute
• By Occasion1. Employee Incentive
  2. Sales Incentive
  3. Consumer Incentive
• By Scale of Business

Gift Spend by Product Categories (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers)

• Food & Beverage
• Health, Wellness & Beauty
• Apparel, Footwear & Accessories
• Books & Media Products
• Consumer Electronics
• Restaurants & Bars
• Toys, Kids, and Babies
• Jewelry
• Sporting Goods
• Home & Kitchen Accessories & Appliances
• Travel
• Entertainment & Gaming
• Other

Gift Card Spend by Retail Sector (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers)

• Ecommerce & Department Stores
• Restaurants & Bars
• Supermarket, Hypermarket, Convenience Store
• Entertainment & Gaming
• Specialty Stores
• Health & Wellness
• Travel

Gift Card Spend by Distribution Channel (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers)

• Gift Card Online Sales
• Gift Card Offline Sales
• 1st Party Sales
• 3rd Party Sales
• Sales Uplift

Closed Loop Gift Card Market Share by Key Retailers. Key Retailers Covered Include:

• Shufersal Ltd
• Super-Pharm (Israel) Ltd
• Rami Levi Shivuk Hashikma
• Yeynot Bitan Ltd
• Hamashbir 365 Holdings Ltd
• Dor Alon Israel Ltd
• Inter Ikea Systems BV
• Shoprite Holdings Ltd
• Pick 'n' Pay Stores Ltd
• Internationale Spar Centrale BV
• Wal-Mart Stores Inc
• Woolworths Holdings Ltd (South Africa)
• BIM Birlesik Magazacilik AS
• Migros Tic AS
• LC Waikiki Magazacilik Hizemetleri Tic AS
• Koc Holding AS
• Teknosa Ic ve Dis Ticaret AS
• Carrefour SA
• A101 Yeni Magazacilik AS
• Yildiz Holding AS
• Consumer Co-operative Union (CCU)
• Landmark Group
• Emke Group
• Damas International Ltd
• T Choithram & Sons
• Sharaf DG LLC
• Savola Group
• Saudi Co For Hardware (SACO)
• Jarir Marketing Co
• United Electronics Co
• Inditex, Industria de Diseno Textil SA

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6u8i21

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