Research report: Most retailers plan to use mobile gift cards

SAN DIEGO — Research released by Transaction Wireless and Aberdeen Group, which examined the benefits of mobile and digital gifting and emerging trends in mobile and social frontiers, found a shift toward digital gifting.

In fact, online gift cards have risen to prominence in the past few years and now are used by nearly one-third (28%) of retailers. More than half — 61% — plan to use mobile gift cards, and 43% of customers prefer to use the mobile medium for gift cards.

Nearly one-third (31%) of customers said they prefer a website for digital gifts, and another 31% said they prefer Facebook.

Half (51%) of retailers list the convenience for using gift cards on the mobile device as a top benefit of mobile gifting; the second most commonly cited benefit of mobile gift cards is their anytime, anywhere access.

Forty-one percent of retailers said that mobile gifting should provide an end-to-end, 360-degree unified shopper experience across multiple channels of sales and service. And, according to 38% of retailers, personalization of mobile gifting is the most important element for securing customer adoption.

“Digital gift cards are fast becoming a reality in retail and are in fact surpassing the interest in traditional plastic gift cards,” said Thomas Niedbalski, senior VP business and client development for Transaction Wireless.

A white paper detailing the report is available for download here.