Gift Cards Come into Their Own with Record Sales

Gift Cards Come into Their Own with Record Sales Reported for Xmas 2011

New Zealand’s leading provider of prepaid gift cards, Ezi-Pay, is celebrating after reporting a 63 percent increase in sales in December, compared to the same month in the previous year.

Christmas Eve is typically the largest sale day of the year for Ezi-Pay, and 2011 was no exception. Daily sales of gift cards showed a sharp increase in the approach to Christmas, with Ezi-Pay seeing record gift card sales on both 23rd and 24th December 2011.

The entertainment category, featuring cards such as iTunes and the Movie Gift Card, was the most popular, with gift cards from The Warehouse, Mitre 10, Hunting and Fishing and the Restaurant Card also featuring in the top 10.

CEO of Ezi-Pay, Dave Spicer, commented: “The significant increase in sales is very pleasing, and can be attributed to a number of factors - increasing acceptance of gift cards by consumers, improved visibility in store, increased availability of desirable local gift card content and the introduction of many new prepaid game card titles. Consumers are becoming accustomed to gift cards and the convenience and flexibility they offer both the purchaser and the recipient.

“The sales results are also in line with overseas trends, where international studies have found that gift cards are the most desired gift to receive at Christmas, and that 64% of people planned to purchase at least one gift card during the year. In New Zealand, our own pre-Christmas poll showed that 84% of respondents would like to receive a gift card and 72% would rather receive a gift card than an actual present.”

Ezi-Pay’s online store was, once again, the top performing individual store for gift card sales in December, with sales up 40 percent on 2010.

Dave said: “Online purchasing is a convenient option for busy consumers and an ideal way to send gifts to people you won’t see in person. www.giftstation.co.nz is particularly popular with those overseas, buying for friends and family in New Zealand. www.giftstation.co.nz offers the widest range of gift cards available, with 78 different cards currently on offer. The purchaser can also choose the amount to load onto each card, making it simple to shop to a budget.”

Sales in non-metropolitan areas (outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch) also accounted for over 50 percent of retail sales. Gift cards sell particularly well in smaller towns and centres around the country, where big name retailers are often not easily accessible and gifting choices may otherwise be limited.

“Gift cards are the ideal gift for people who would like to give a gift from a particular store or entertainment venue, but have limited access to those stores”, said Dave.

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