Men Are Now the Primary Buyers of Gift Cards, Blackhawk Network Finds

Men have supplanted women as the primary buyers of gift cards, says a report from Blackhawk Network.

The shift is attributable to men taking on more household responsibilities, such as shopping and gifting, the report says. Blackhawk has been conducting the survey for nearly a decade.

Types of gift cards men purchase tend to be for electronics and video game retailers. By comparison, women tend to purchase gift cards for personal care and beauty retailers, the report says. In addition, men are about 20% more likely than women to purchase physical cards rather than digital ones. Overall, about half of respondents purchase gift cards through digital channels.

Blackhawk surveyed 2,019 consumers aged 18 and older in the United States.

Merchants that offer gift-card malls are the most popular place for purchasing gift cards, according to the research, with 69% of respondents saying they purchase cards from stores that offer a variety of gift card brands. When it comes to purchasing gift cards directly from a brand, 4 in 10 consumers say they do so.

While gift card sales have traditionally taken off during the holiday shopping season, consumers are now making more gift card purchases during other times of the year. Respondents say they plan to purchase nine gift cards outside of the holiday-shopping season, on average. In addition, 58% of respondents plan to spend more than the value of the gift card, and 88% say they plan to purchase other gifts to give alongside the card.

Consumers are becoming more eco-conscious when purchasing gift cards, with 30% of respondents showing a preference for purchasing gift cards made of paper substrates as opposed to plastic, the survey finds. This tendency is also boosting digital gift cards, with 60% of respondents saying they plan to purchase a digital card this year.