India Gift Card and Incentive Card Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics (Databook) - Q1 2024 Update

According to the publisher, the gift card industry in the country is expected to grow by 16.5% on annual basis to reach US$8.9 billion in 2024.

The gift card industry in India will continue to grow over the forecast period and is expected to record a CAGR of 15.3% during 2024-2028. Gift card market in the country will increase from US$7.6 billion in 2023 to reach US$15.7 billion by 2028.

The gift card market is poised to record strong growth in India over the medium term. The rising adoption of the payment tool, especially among consumers from Tier II and III cities, is aiding the industry growth. Consumers in Tier II cities and beyond are increasingly adopting gift cards as a gifting and payment tool. In India, digital gift cards are more popular compared to physical ones among consumers.

To tap into the high-growth market, more digital platforms are launching gift card solutions to meet the demand among Indian consumers. E-commerce platforms have also reported strong gift card sales in 2023. This trend is expected to continue further in 2024 in the Indian market. Overall, the publisher maintains a positive growth outlook for the Indian gift card sector over the next three to four years.

Amid rising adoption more digital platforms are launching gift card solutions for consumers and corporations

The rising preference for gift cards is evident in the fast-growing competitive landscape in the Indian market. More players have started to offer gift card solutions to consumers and corporates over the last 12 months and this trend is projected to continue further over the medium term.

• The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), in September 2023, launched the ONDC Network Gift Card. The network-level gift card is targeted towards corporates as well as consumers. Unlike traditional brand-specific gift cards, the ONDC Network Gift Card provides consumers with a choice to choose from a vast range of products and brands, spanning different categories such as fashion, electronics, food, and others.
• The gift card solution was launched just before the Indian festive season, which is one of the biggest contributors towards total gift card sales over the 12 months. The Network Gift Card also aligns well with the ONDC’s ambition of democratizing digital commerce in India. The gift cards are powered by the RuPay Network and can be loaded with a maximum of INR 10,000.

ONDC, in November 2023, recorded 1.2 million transactions during the festive season. This shows the growing popularity of the platform among Indian consumers. In 2024, ONDC is poised to expand in more Indian cities. This will aid the penetration of gift cards in Tier II and beyond cities over the next three to four years in the Indian market, thereby supporting the market growth too.

Gift card is still a small portion of a multi-billion-dollar gifting industry in India

The gifting industry in India is one of the largest globally. From weddings to festivals, gift-giving is the traditional process followed across the nation. Gift cards still represent a tiny portion of the multi-billion-dollar gifting industry. This is also seen in the revenue generated through gift card sales by providers in India.

• IGP, an online multi-category gifting platform, revealed that gift cards constituted only 10% of its total business during the 2023 festive season. The firm has further revealed that corporate and personalized gifting sectors have been growing at a significant rate in India. IGP reported a 20% year-on-year expansion in the corporate gifting segment during the 2023 Indian festive season. The personalized gifting market, on the other hand, reported 25% growth year-on-year.

The fact that gift cards only constituted 10% of IGP’s total revenue during the festival season shows that there is plenty of headroom for growth for providers in the Indian market. With adoption still growing at a significant pace, the growth opportunity will drive more global players into the Indian market, thereby aiding the competitive landscape over the medium term.

The Indian government is considering some relief from GST on gift cards and vouchers

The government, in India, is considering offering relief from goods and services tax (GST) on gift cards and vouchers provided by businesses and merchants. The relief aims to solve the problem of double taxation in certain cases. The decision is expected to provide clear guidelines on how these widely-used payment tools are taxed.

• Many brands and businesses offer their customers vouchers or gift cards that can be used to get goods or services. The problem arises when GST is applied at the time of purchasing these gift cards, leading to double taxation when they are used to buy goods or services already subject to GST.

To address this issue, the proposed clarification suggests exempting vouchers and gift cards from sales tax. Additionally, the government also seeks to establish how companies' vouchers, traded or sold to distributors or dealers, should be taxed. Another issue under consideration, by the Indian government, is the levy of tax on the entire face value of the vouchers rather than simply the commission, as is the practice in the industry when vouchers are transferred.

Gift card market in 2023 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.

This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of gift card market, covering market opportunities and risks across a range of retail categories. With over 75 KPIs at country level, this report provides a comprehensive understanding of gift card market dynamics, market size and forecast.

Scope

Total Spend on Gifts in India

• 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 India

• 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 India

• Retail Consumer
• Corporate Consumer (Small Scale, Mid-Tier, Large Enterprise)

Digital Gift Card Market Size in India

• 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 India

• By Functional Attribute
• By Occasion

1. 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 India

• 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 India

• By Functional Attribute
• By Occasion

1. Employee Incentive
2. Sales Incentive
3. Consumer Incentive

• By Scale of Business

Gift Spend by Product Categories (Split by Retail and Corporate Consumers) in India

• 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 India

• 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 India

• Gift Card Online Sales
• Gift Card Offline Sales
• 1st Party Sales
• 3rd Party Sales
• Sales Uplift

Gift Card Sales Estimates by Key RetailersReasons 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 (2019-2028) for gift cards and incentive cards in India.
• 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 India: 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.