35 Gift Industry Statistics and Facts You Should Know

Gift-giving is one of the oldest human habits, and today it moves hundreds of billions of dollars a year. From social-media hauls to personalized keepsakes, the way we pick and send presents keeps shifting.

These gift industry statistics gather the current numbers on online and in-person giving, personalized and corporate gifts, gift cards, and the holiday rush.

Whether you sell gifts or simply want to shop smarter, the data below shows where the money goes and what shoppers actually want.

Top 10 Gifting Statistics and Facts

The global gift retailing market reached about $491.82 billion in 2025 and is on track for $678.08 billion by 2034.
The global corporate gifting market is projected to hit $919.9 billion in 2025, up from $839.6 billion in 2024.
U.S. holiday retail sales set a record of $994.1 billion in 2024, up 4% over the previous year.
Gen Z shoppers were more than twice as likely as the average consumer to buy holiday gifts directly through social media in 2024.
Americans lose out on roughly $23 billion in unused gift cards every year.
The global gift card market was worth about $920.8 billion in 2024, with the U.S. making up around 36% of it.
The U.S. personalized gifting market reached $9.69 billion in 2024 and is forecast to hit $14.56 billion by 2030.
The U.S. greeting card market generated about $7.74 billion in 2025, the largest of any country.
Around 157 million people planned to shop on Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas, in 2024.
The global gift packaging market was worth about $29 billion in 2025 and is projected to near $44 billion by 2034.

35 Gift Industry Statistics and Facts

Here is the data behind the ribbons and bows. These statistics cover online shopping habits, the global market, personalized and corporate gifts, and the holiday season.

Online Shopping Facts

E-commerce keeps reshaping how we choose and send presents. These stats show the digital shift in gifting.

1. Social Media Is the New Storefront

Gen Z now shops for gifts where it scrolls. In 2024, Gen Z buyers were more than twice as likely (42%) as the average consumer (20%) to buy holiday gifts directly through social media. Only 26% of millennials, 15% of Gen X, and 6% of baby boomers did the same ⁽¹⁾.

2. Price Is King

Price still drives the online cart. In 2021, 69% of consumers named it their top reason for buying gifts online, ahead of product quality and delivery speed ⁽²⁾.

3. Amazon Dominates Holiday Buying

Amazon remains the default for gift shopping. Nearly nine in ten gift buyers planned to use the platform for holiday purchases in 2022, leaving Walmart and Target well behind ⁽³⁾.

4. Mobile Gift Searches Keep Climbing

Shoppers reach for their phones first. Searches for specific “day gifts” such as Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day jumped 70% between 2016 and 2018, and once buyers find a retailer, half stay on the mobile site rather than download an app ⁽⁴⁾.

5. Online Holiday Sales Keep Growing

Digital gift buying set a new bar in 2024. Online and other non-store sales rose 9% year over year to $296.7 billion during the holiday season, outpacing overall retail growth ⁽⁵⁾.

6. Gift Cards Left on the Table

Gift cards are popular, but plenty go to waste. Americans lose out on about $23 billion in unused gift cards each year, and the average person is sitting on roughly $244 in unspent balances ⁽⁶⁾.

7. Where Shoppers Find Gift Ideas

Social platforms double as gift catalogs. Among people buying holiday gifts through social media in 2024, Instagram (57%) and Facebook (56%) led the way, followed by TikTok (43%) and YouTube (38%), according to the same Retail Dive report.

Global Gifting Market

Gifting is a universal habit with a large economic footprint. These facts show the scale of the industry worldwide.

8. A Half-Trillion-Dollar Market

The numbers behind gifting are big. The global gift retailing market was valued at about $491.82 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $678.08 billion by 2034, a compound annual growth rate of 3.64%. Europe led all regions with a 37.76% share ⁽⁷⁾.

9. The Greeting Card Still Sells

Paper cards remain a steady business. The global greeting card market was worth about $19.9 billion in 2024, and the U.S. alone generated roughly $7.74 billion in 2025, the largest single market. Americans still buy around 6.5 billion cards a year ⁽⁸⁾.

10. Fashion and Food Win

A YouGov poll found that 52% of international consumers prefer buying clothes, shoes, and bags as gifts. Food and drink ranked second, chosen by 48% of shoppers ⁽⁹⁾.

11. China’s Massive Gift Card Sector

China is a heavyweight for gift cards. The sector was expected to exceed $164 billion in 2023 and could reach $217 billion by 2027 ⁽¹⁰⁾. See how it compares in our guide to the gift card industry.

12. Steady Retail Growth

The global retail gift market is set to grow by $13 billion between 2023 and 2027, a CAGR of 3.01% that captures both in-store and online sales ⁽¹¹⁾.

13. The Gift Card Boom

Gift cards are one of the fastest-moving corners of the industry. The global gift card market was worth about $920.8 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $2.28 trillion by 2033, with the U.S. accounting for roughly 36% of the total ⁽¹²⁾.

14. Personalized Gifts Gain Ground

Custom products keep expanding. The global personalized gifts market was estimated at about $29.6 billion in 2024 ⁽¹³⁾, and analysts expect it to grow by another $10.76 billion between 2024 and 2029 ⁽¹⁴⁾.

Personalized Gift Industry Statistics

Generic gifts are fading and customization is rising. These stats show why a personal touch pays off.

15. A Fast-Growing U.S. Sector

Personalized gifting is booming at home. The U.S. personalized gifting market was valued at $9.69 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $14.56 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 7.02%, driven largely by millennials and Gen Z ⁽¹⁵⁾.

16. Buyers Prefer Custom

Personal beats generic. Sixty-two percent of U.S. consumers prefer personalized gifts over standard store-bought items, feeling they carry more thought and heart ⁽¹⁶⁾.

17. The Best-Sellers

Not all custom gifts are equal. Personalized photo gifts took the top spot, followed by photo books, custom mugs, and home decor ⁽¹⁷⁾.

18. Key Players

A few names lead the field. Archies Limited of India topped the global personalized gift market, alongside American Greetings in the U.S. and Redbubble in Australia ⁽¹⁸⁾.

19. People Keep Custom Gifts Longer

Personalization builds staying power. A Vistaprint study found that 55% of consumers keep personalized items longer than generic ones, and 40% keep them for good ⁽¹⁹⁾.

20. Word of Mouth

Custom gifts get people talking. Fifty-eight percent of recipients say they are more likely to tell others about a personalized gift than a traditional one ⁽²⁰⁾.

21. Handmade Gifts Make a Comeback

Making gifts by hand is back in style. In Deloitte’s 2025 Holiday Retail Survey, 49% of consumers said they plan to make their own gifts this season, one of the top ways shoppers are stretching their holiday budgets alongside hunting for deals and reusing what they already have ⁽²¹⁾.

Corporate Gifting Industry Statistics

Businesses spend heavily to build relationships through gifts. This sector keeps expanding as companies focus on employee and client retention.

22. A Booming B2B Market

Corporate gifting has scaled fast. The global corporate gifting market was valued at $839.6 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $919.9 billion in 2025, a growth rate of 9.6% ⁽²²⁾.

23. The U.S. Leads the Way

American companies drive much of the spend. The U.S. corporate gifting market is on track for about $312 billion in 2025, roughly 28% of the global total ⁽²³⁾.

24. Gift Cards Rule the Office

Flexibility wins in the workplace. Physical and digital gift cards were the most purchased corporate gifts, prized for how easily they suit any recipient ⁽²⁴⁾.

25. Food Is a Favorite

Edible gifts stay on top. In 2021, 67% of corporate sales involved food, and 46% of buyers chose gift baskets, pairing traditional gifting with a treat ⁽²⁵⁾.

26. The Remote Shift

Distributed teams changed the playbook. Virtual gifts, eCards, and experience vouchers became key tools for engaging remote workers after 2020 ⁽²⁶⁾.

27. Spending Habits

Most corporate buyers spend between $70 and $100 per gift, with a broader range of $25 to $125, aiming for quality without overspending ⁽²⁷⁾.

28. A Strong Outlook

The sector shows no signs of slowing. Analysts project the corporate gifting market to keep growing at a CAGR of about 8.44% through 2027 ⁽²⁸⁾.

Holiday Gifting Trends

The holiday season has its own rules and spending patterns. These stats break down the busiest time of the year.

29. A Record Holiday Season

The 2024 holidays broke records. U.S. holiday retail sales grew 4% over 2023 to reach $994.1 billion, topping the previous record of $955.6 billion ⁽²⁹⁾.

30. Gift Cards Top Wish Lists

Gift cards own a big slice of the season. They accounted for about half of all holiday spending in 2022, with Gen Z shoppers especially keen, lifting their gift card spending 57% year over year ⁽³⁰⁾.

31. Valentine’s Day Choices

Sweets are still the way to the heart. For Valentine’s Day 2021, one-third of women planned to buy candy or chocolate, with cards and perfume close behind, while flowers missed the top five ⁽³¹⁾.

32. Presentation Pays

Wrapping is a business of its own. The global gift packaging market was worth about $29 billion in 2025 and is projected to near $44 billion by 2034 as looks matter more for social media ⁽³²⁾. Get it right with our guide to gift wrapping.

33. Super Saturday Stays Huge

The last Saturday before Christmas is a retail marathon. Around 157 million consumers planned to shop on Super Saturday in 2024, up from 141.9 million the year before, and 44% planned to shop both in stores and online ⁽³³⁾.

34. Inflation Changes Behavior

Economic pressure shapes the season. In 2022, more than half of shoppers (51%) planned to buy fewer gifts because of inflation, and 56% took advantage of early deals before Thanksgiving to spread out the cost ⁽³⁴⁾.

35. The Late Rush

Procrastination is common. Search traffic for “where to buy” peaks around December 23 as shoppers scramble for local options once shipping deadlines pass ⁽³⁵⁾.

FAQs

What Is the Profit Margin on Gift Baskets?

Gift basket businesses typically aim for a profit margin of 15% to 30%. To hit that, most operators mark up the cost of the items inside the basket by about 100% ⁽³⁶⁾.

How Profitable Are Gift Shops?

Gift shops make most of their money during the holidays, and profits depend on size and store count. In 2020, gift, souvenir, and novelty stores brought in $13.6 billion, and they mark items up 100% to 250%, versus about 50% in many other retail categories ⁽³⁷⁾.

How Big Is the Gift Industry in the U.S.?

The U.S. gifting market is worth well over $100 billion a year, with personal gifting making up the bulk of it. Much of that spending now happens online, and roughly one dollar of every ten Americans spend goes toward a gift for someone else ⁽³⁸⁾.

What Percentage of Gift Cards Are Never Used?

Around 43% of Americans have at least one unused gift card, voucher, or store credit, and the average person holds about $244 in unspent balances. Cards go unused because they expire, get lost, or the store closes, and Americans forfeit roughly $23 billion in gift card value each year ⁽³⁹⁾.

Is Corporate Gift-Giving Ethical?

Corporate gift-giving is ethical when it is transparent and follows company policy. It becomes a problem when a gift is meant to buy favors or creates a conflict of interest, so many firms set clear value limits and disclosure rules ⁽⁴⁰⁾.

Why Are Experience Gifts so Popular?

Experience gifts are popular because they trade physical clutter for lasting memories. Millennials and Gen Z tend to value travel, concerts, and dining over material goods, which is pushing more of the gifting market toward vouchers and event tickets.