AS THE cost of living crisis begins to bite, research shows that more consumers are making the switch to gift cards in an effort to reduce waste.
Over 24% of consumers say they’ll choose gift cards this Christmas in an effort to reduce waste and avoid the risk of buying unwanted gifts, reveals new research from fintech Miconex.
Perth based Miconex says that research conducted with thousands of consumers, employees and organisations in Scotland shows that over 90% of consumers are planning to buy at least one gift card for Christmas 2022, with 38% of people saying they’ll buy between 4 and 6 gift cards.
Pamela Elder, 45, from Edinburgh is keen to support local and avoid wasteful gifting this Christmas. Pamela said:
“Since covid, I have been trying to support local businesses a lot more. It has been such a struggle for the small businesses and there is so much competition from Amazon.
“The main reason I choose gift cards for others is the worry about getting the right gift for them. The second is avoiding waste. I wouldn’t want to waste money on anything that they wouldn’t want, or burden them with a gift that they don’t need. We bring more and more stuff into our homes all the time and I don’t want to give a gift for the sake of it. The third reason is the ease of buying a gift card.”
Colin Munro, managing director of Miconex, said the need to avoid wasteful gifting is as strong as ever:
“YouGov data shows that 24.8million adults in the UK will give gifts this Christmas, 47% of the population. Yet, we also know from GCVA data that since the start of 2022, 46% of people say they are either slightly (35%) or significantly (11%) worse off. People are starting to feel the pinch and the last thing they want to do is waste money on gifts that friends and family don’t want or need.
“In our research, as well as consumers looking to gift cards as a means to reduce the waste of unwanted gifts, 33% said that they choose gift cards as presents because they’re easier to buy and send. It reduces the costs of packaging and delivering gifts, and can often reduce the cost of overall spending on Christmas presents. 24% also said that buying gift cards saves time in searching for gifts.”
Miconex, founders of the award winning Town & City Gift Card programme active across Scotland, undertook the research in August 2022. The local gift cards can be spent with a variety of shops, restaurants, attractions and services in a particular town, city or region, locking in spend locally.
For Christmas 2022, Miconex is also offering people the chance to Win Their Dream Christmas at: www.winyourxmas.com with £1000 of Town & City Gift Cards on offer for the winner. The competition closes on the 28th November 2022.
Colin added: “The desire to ‘love where you live’ is as strong as ever with over 90% of people saying they’re keen to support local this Christmas. Giving a Town & City Gift Card is a way to give a loved one ultimate choice in how they spend and enjoy their present and avoid wasteful gifting, whilst locking spend into local communities.”
