Holiday Gift Cards Bloom, Especially Among Younger Consumers

Predictions that gift cards would be a popular choice this holiday shopping season may bear out. At least one gift card provider, Tillo Inc., finds that across Black Friday to Cyber Monday, Nov. 28-Dec.1, its total sales were up 41% over the similar period in 2024.

Tillo, based in the United Kingdom with U.S. headquarters in Austin, Texas, specializes in the incentive and brand distribution of gift cards. The National Retail Federation predicted 43% of U.S. shoppers intended to buy a gift card this holiday season.

“The industry as a whole keeps growing,” Bill Warshauer, Tillo’s chief revenue officer, tells Digital Transactions News. Younger consumers, in particular, are drawn to the gifting option with some, like the Gen Z cohort (those born from 1997 to 2012), viewing them as flexible financial tools and not necessarily as last-minute gifts, he says. In turn, this influences brands to add gift cards or make their existing gift cards as visible as necessary. “Even most niche brands see gift cards as essential,” Warshauer says.

Though open-loop gift cards are favored by all generations in the InComm Payments 2025 Holiday Report, big box retailer ones are the next most wished for type, with a mix of dining, gaming, groceries, and multi-brand also desired.

Gift cards also are benefiting from the digitization of payments and are continually evaluated for ease of use and availability.

“A lot of the program operators are making their gift cards not just great looking but easy to redeem,” Warshauer says. “Consumers don’t want friction.”

These efforts appear to have paid off. Tillo says growth over the earlier holiday weekend was broad-based rather than concentrated on a single day. Black Friday volume was up 44% year-over-year, with Saturday up 51%, Sunday up 41%, and Cyber Monday up 30%.

“Under the hood, the ecosystem itself is expanding fast: buyer counts, brand participation, and connections all grew around 40–50% YoY, while transactions increased close to 30%. That combination points to a healthier, more scalable gift card market heading into the holiday peak, driven by wider adoption and stronger engagement, not just heavier spend from the same players,” Tillo says.

Other gift card providers echo Warshauer. InComm Payments suggests five essentials, including making gift cards visible, having a rewards program in place, enabling purchases to share gift cards, providing a clear and easy-to-understand use path, and, for those with in-store opportunities, ensuring the gift card retail display works to the retailer’s advantage.

“Consumers are telling us what they want: flexible, fast, friction-free gifting. Now it’s up to brands, retailers, and payment processors to meet them there. And when they do? Gift cards won’t just thrive in a silo, they’ll be a key driver of business,” Tammy McGill, InComm Payments director of market research, said in August.