The Retail Gift Card Association Releases Results of Consumer Gift Card Attitudes Survey

OKLAHOMA CITY, June 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA), a trade association of diverse, closed loop gift card retailers committed to promoting the use of gift cards, today released the results of a consumer gift card attitudes survey. The survey asked over 1,000 consumers about their attitudes, behaviors and preferences when giving and receiving retail gift cards; the data also revealed insight into current consumer gifting and spending trends.

According to the results, consumers continue to keep their wallets tight - only 30.6 percent of respondents would purchase something they would not normally buy. The rest, 69.4 percent, said they would spend the gift card on something they needed, or put it towards a larger purchase. Data from the survey also shows strong consumer confidence in both giving and receiving gift cards, with 71.3 percent noting they feel very satisfied when they receive a retail gift card as a gift, and 91.4 percent reporting they plan to give one to three retail gift cards as gifts in the next three months.

"The mission of the RGCA is to promote best practices in the industry that benefit both members and consumers and this survey shows that our member companies are rising to the challenge of increasing consumer confidence in retail gift cards," said RGCA executive director Rebekka Rea. "This survey shows that gift card continue to evolve in terms of their utility for many gifting occasions and they continue to be coveted by recipients."

Additional findings include:

• According to the survey, last weekend, 29.4% of respondents gave Dad a gift card to a home improvement store, and 10.4% opted for a restaurant card
• 28.6% plan to give newlyweds a gift card to a home improvement store this summer, which is a higher percentage than spa/leisure, restaurant, retailer or online gift cards
• 73.2% prefer to give a retail gift card when giving a gift from a group of people
• 88.5% redeem a retail gift card within 6 months of receiving
• 87.7% spend the same amount, or more than the amount of the retail gift card
• 50.9% like GIVING retail gift cards because they are convenient, and 64.3% like they can be assured the recipient will be able to purchase what they prefer
• 84.6% like RECEIVING retail gift cards because they can purchase what they want

For more information, or to become a member of the RGCA, please visit us at http://www.thergca.org.  

About RGCA
The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) is a trade group whose mission is to promote the positive attributes of closed loop gift cards.  The RGCA believes that educating consumers, retailers, media and legislative groups about the difference in prepaid products is paramount to ensuring a positive gifting experience.  RGCA members abide by a code of principles which support consumer-friendly policies around the purchase, and redemption, of closed loop gift cards.  RGCA membership is open to retailers, restaurants and travel-and-entertainment merchants whose primary revenue is not derived from gift cards. For more information, visit us at www.theRGCA.org.

SOURCE The Retail Gift Card Association