With Their Eyes on Affordability, Consumers Increasingly Gift Themselves, Blackhawk Finds

The number of consumers planning to buy gift cards for self-use rose from 31% last year to 56% in 2026, according to new research results released Monday by Blackhawk Network Inc., a major prepaid card services and technology provider.

Overall, 77% of Americans plan to buy gift cards this year, up from 66% who bought them in 2025, according to the study. The big expected jump in purchases for self use is part of consumers’ recent focus on affordability by helping them stay within their budgetary boundaries, according to Pleasanton, California-based Blackhawk Network.

“Years of economic pressure have driven consumers to become much more intentional about how they spend, and gift cards have emerged as powerful budgeting and inflation-fighting solutions,” Brett Narlinger, Blackhawk’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement. “Gift cards continue to be popular and budget-friendly options for gifting, but the majority of consumers are intentionally purchasing and using them to establish financial guardrails while spending power is stretched thin.”

Blackhawk’s findings come from proprietary research conducted in 24 countries in January, including 2,138 American adults. Digital Transactions News is reporting only the U.S. results.

While the number of Americans planning to use gift cards just for themselves is booming, the overall number who actually report self-use is still small at 16% of respondents. Some 61% of consumers buy the cards for gifting only, with both groups mostly having household incomes under $50,000. Some 23% of respondents said they buy the cards both for gifting and self-use. Combination users are concentrated in younger generations, have household incomes over $50,000, and tend to be married with children, according to the findings.

While Blackhawk found that American consumers are concerned about thwarting inflation, they’re still willing to overspend the value of a gift card, a phenomenon that boosts retailers’ top lines. Some 58% of shoppers said they would spend more than a gift card’s value, with the average overspend pegged at $73, up $5 over two years. The study found willingness to overspend decreased as card value rose.

Meanwhile, Blackhawk says physical gift cards remain the most preferred format, cited by 48% of respondents, with 19% preferring digital cards and 31% endorsing both kinds. Fifty-four percent of respondents plan to buy a digital gift card this year, while 51% said they bought one in 2025.

Other findings also show the impact of technology on the gift card market. Half of the younger consumers surveyed said they bought a gift card during a social channel streaming event last year, and 69% of younger adults said they planned to do so this year. And nearly half of younger consumers report using artificial intelligence for gift shopping, with the most common uses being comparisons of products and brands, and finding the best prices.