epay trend study: What presents do Germans give for Christmas?

Nearly one in two survey respondents who have bought a gift card is planning a gift card as a Christmas present, according to the new trend survey by gift card and payment specialist epay.

• Nearly one in two respondents who have bought a gift card in the past are planning to give one or even several gift cards as Christmas presents this year
• Gift cards are most often the main Christmas present
• Christmas shopping for gift cards is primarily planned in stationary retail

Martinsried (Munich), 6 November 2019:

After the first edition of the “Gift cards in the digital age” survey on consumers’ gift card consumption behavior by epay, a leading provider of gift cards and prepaid products in Europe, and Plentyco, a leading service provider for field-marketing and point-of-sale services, a new survey has been conducted on consumer behavior specifically in the Christmas shopping season.

Nearly one in two survey respondents (42 percent) who have bought a gift card in the past are planning to give at least one or even several gift cards as Christmas presents this year. round 46 percent of those respondents who have already bought a gift card in the past are considering giving a gift card as a present this Christmas, but have not yet decided. “The group of undecided buyers represents great potential for retailers, which can be increased with suitable and eye-catching communication and marketing measures during the Christmas shopping season,” says Mark Ehler, managing director of epay Europe.

The gift card used as the main present

More than half (51 percent) of those who either plan to buy a gift card or are considering it are planning the gift card as the main present. Around 18 percent want to supplement the main present with a gift card that matches its theme, and 31 percent are planning a gift card as an additional present with no relation to the main present. Gift cards for Christmas are an attractive present because they promise flexibility for the recipient and for the gift giver. The range of gift cards is enormous – from fashion, sport, technology, and interior decoration to charity gift cards and many more. The gift card can thus be individually adapted to the interests and preferences of the recipient. Because gift cards are available in a large range of values, they can be used as main or additional presents and adapted individually to suit the giver’s pocket.

Stationary retail preferred for purchasing gift cards for Christmas

The main sales channel for gift cards remains brick-and-mortar retailers: More than three quarters (76 percent) of those surveyed who are planning to give or are considering giving a gift card as a present would rather buy it in a store than online, however online and mobile channels are becoming ever more relevant to customers.

Gift cards are available from many places – from food retailers through drugstores, and post offices to gas stations – and a large selection is available as an impulse buy when people are doing their regular shopping, or shortly before Christmas as a last-minute present.

About the survey:

The new edition of the “Gift cards in the digital age” trend survey with a Christmas focus was conducted on behalf of epay and Plentyco as an online survey of 1,000 consumers. As a full-service provider for gift cards, epay wants to use the survey to continuously show online and offline retailers developments in gift-card use and revenue potential. The company already works together with around 329,000 retailers worldwide from the drugstore, electronics, telecommunications, bank, post office, gas station, convenience, e-commerce, and, in particular, food retail segments, and distributes well-known brands’ gift-card and prepaid products via this retailer network. The company is happy to present the detailed findings personally to interested network partners and other retailers, and to develop tailor-made solutions.

About epay

epay is a world-leading full-service provider for payment processing and prepaid solutions and processed 1.15 billion transactions in 2018. The company has built up an extensive network of retailers with 710,000 point-of-sale terminals in 52 countries, to connect renowned brands with consumers all around the world. The company offers a portfolio of gift cards (prepaid, closed loop and digital media), business incentives and payment solutions (card acceptance, terminals, e-commerce, mobile and Internet of Payment) for omnichannel commerce, and offers its services thanks to its proprietary cash register integration software.

epay is a division of Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT), a Kansas-based company which earned $2.5 billion in revenue in 2018, employing a staff of 7,100 employees and serving customers in 170 countries.

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