Despite near-term challenges in 2022, medium to long term growth story of gift cards in Switzerland remains strong. The gift card industry in Switzerland is expected to grow steadily in H1 2022 and record a strong growth in H2 2022. The gift card market in the country will reach US$2421.6 million by 2026.
Gift card market in 2021 was driven a wide range of factors, which supported growth across retail and corporate segments. The primary factors included growth of ecommerce, increased adoption to incentivize employees working remotely, digital gifting, and initiatives undertaken by government, hospitality, and travel industries to revive growth. Though the gift card market was impacted due to COVID-19, the market is expected to bounce back in the coming quarters, especially in H1 2022.
Gift card industry in Switzerland has done well to withstand the impact of economic slowdown along with negative business and consumer sentiment due to disruption caused by Covid-19 outbreak.
Retailers are leveraging the ongoing cryptocurrency boom to sell Bitcoin gift cards in their stores in Switzerland
In the midst of the ongoing boom in the cryptocurrency segment in Switzerland, major retailers have started to leverage the growing sector to sell gift cards to consumers who are looking for ways to buy Bitcoin.
According to Swiss daily Tages-Anzeiger, Manor, one of the largest departmental store chains in Switzerland, is selling Bitcoin gift cards in all of its 59 stores nationwide. Another retail giant, Valora, is offering consumers Bitcoin gift cards in its kiosks across Switzerland. Notably, Vardex, a cryptocurrency financial services firm, developed the Bitcoin gift cards, which are being sold by major retailers in Switzerland.
With the launch of these gift cards coming in the midst of the growing crypto and blockchain industry in Switzerland, the publisher expects more retailers to join the Bitcoin gift cards bandwagon over the next four to eight quarters in the country. This will subsequently boost the growth of the overall gift card industry in Switzerland from the short to medium-term perspective.
While the merchant adoption of Bitcoin is still growing, consumers owning Bitcoin gift cards have limited options to spend their gift cards. They can either redeem their vouchers through an exchange service or sell the Bitcoin amount on the gift card using one of the 70 ATMs operated by Vardex. However, as more and more merchants start adopting Bitcoin as a payment method, the publisher expects Bitcoin gift cards to gain further adoption in the country.
Growth in the e-commerce sector supporting the rise of the gift card market in Switzerland
The e-commerce market in the country is recording double-digit growth and is expected to continue its upward momentum over the next four to eight quarters. In 2020, the value of goods ordered online increased by more than 25%.
The strong growth of the e-commerce industry has been largely driven by the global pandemic over the last few quarters. More and more people have chosen to shop online because of the Covid-19 fear. With the publisher expecting the shift in consumer shopping behavior to persist even in the post-pandemic era. The growth in the e-commerce industry is expected to support the adoption of gift cards among consumers in Switzerland from the short to medium-term perspective. Consequently, supporting the growth of the overall gift card industry in the country.
Mergers and acquisitions for launching gift card and loyalty programs are rising in Switzerland
As more and more businesses are turning to gift cards and loyalty programs to deal with the Covid-19 enforced challenges, mergers and acquisition activities are picking up pace in Switzerland.
In February 2021, Givex, a cloud-based customer engagement solution, acquired Pi Cash Systems, a leading Swiss provider of point-of-sale systems, in Switzerland. Through the acquisition of Pi Cash Systems, Givex aims to launch new products such as gift cards and loyalty programs, among others in the country. The launch of new products, including gift cards, comes on the back of growing demand from businesses for such solutions in Switzerland.
Reasons to buy
In-depth understanding of gift card and incentive card market dynamics: Understand market opportunity, key trends and drivers along with five-year forecast (2017-2026) for gift cards and incentive cards in Switzerland.
Develop market specific strategies: Identify growth segments and target specific opportunities across consumer segments and occasions to formulate your gift cards strategy; assess market specific key trends and risks.
Get insights into consumer attitude and behaviour in Switzerland: Understand changing consumer attitude and behaviour and boost ROI. Get detailed insights into retail spend through gift cards for both retail and corporate consumers.
Get complete perspective through six essential KPIs: number of cards in circulation, load value, unused value, average purchase value, average value per transaction, and value of transactions.
Distribution channel insights: Understand gift cards sales dynamics by channels - online vs offline and by 1st party vs 3rd party sales.
Scope
Closed Loop Gift Card Market Share by Key Retailers
Migros Genossenschaftsbund eG
Coop Genossenschaft
Maus Freres SA
Aldi Group
fenaco-LANDI Gruppu
Inter Ikea Systems BV
Total Spend on Gifts in Switzerland
By Consumer Segment (Retail and Corporate)
By Product Categories (13 Segments)
By Retail Sectors (7 Segments)
Gift Card Market Size by KPIs across Consumer Segments in Switzerland
Gross Load Value
Transaction Value
Unused Value
Average Value Per Transaction
Transaction Volume
Average Value of Card Purchased
Number of Cards
Gift Card Market Size by Consumer Segment in Switzerland
Retail Consumer
Corporate Consumer (Small Scale, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise)
Digital Gift Card Market Size in Switzerland
By Retail Consumer
By Retail Purchase Occasion
By Corporate Consumer
By Corporate Purchase Occasion
By Company Size
Gift Card Market Size by Retail Consumer in Switzerland
By Functional Attribute
By Occasion1. Festivals & Special Celebration Days 2. Milestone Celebration 3. Self-Use 4. Other
Value by Purchase Channel
Gift Card Spend by Consumer Behavior and Demographics in Switzerland
Consumer Purchase Behaviour
Gift Card Buyer by Age Group
Gift Card Buyer by Income Level
Gift Card Buyer by Gender
Gift Card Market Size by Corporate Consumer in Switzerland
By Functional Attribute
By Occasion1. Employee Incentive 2. Sales Incentive 3. Consumer Incentive
By Scale of Business
Gift Spend by Product Categories (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers) in Switzerland
Food & Beverage
Health, Wellness & Beauty
Apparel, Footwear & Accessories
Books & Media Products
Consumer Electronics
Restaurants & Bars
Toys, Kids, and Babies
Jewelry
Sporting Goods
Home & Kitchen Accessories & Appliances
Travel
Entertainment & Gaming
Other
Gift Card Spend by Retail Sector (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers) in Switzerland
Ecommerce & Department Stores
Restaurants & Bars
Supermarket, Hypermarket, Convenience Store
Entertainment & Gaming
Specialty Stores
Health & Wellness
Travel
Gift Card Spend by Distribution Channel (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers) in Switzerland
