Discover the fascinating story behind the gifts we give and receive, both online and in-store. Uncover surprising statistics and trends in the gifting industry, from corporate gifts to holiday shopping.
Join us on a journey through gift industry statistics and facts and gain insight into the current and future of gift-giving worldwide.
Top 10 Gifting Statistics and Facts
- The global gift industry is projected to reach $43.3 billion by 2027, with social media often a reason for the expectations.
- The value of gift-wrapping products hit $15.11 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $24.9 billion by 2025.
- Ninety-three percent of holiday shoppers in 2022 looked for deals to offset rising inflation.
- Forty-six percent of Gen Z consumers used social media to find gifts online in 2019.
- A personalized gift is 55% more likely to be kept longer than one without personalization.
- Corporate gifting represents 17% of the U.S. gift market, totaling $22 billion annually.
- The 2022 global greeting card market was worth $15.9 million.
- China’s gift card market is expected to reach nearly $218 billion between 2023 and 2027.
- Gift sales worldwide went up by 63% during the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Forty percent of millennial consumers in 2017 preferred giving and receiving personalized and handmade gifts for the holidays.
35 Gift Industry Statistics and Facts
Get ready to dive into gift-focused topics, from online shopping to personalized gifts and holiday trends.
Online Shopping Facts
These gift statistics concentrate on the world of online shopping and where it’s headed.
1. Online Statistics
The U.S. had approximately 268 million online shoppers in 2022. It’s projected that this number will increase to 285 million by 2025 (1).
2. Why Online
Sixty-nine percent of consumers in 2021 cited prices as the top reason they buy gifts online. The quality of the products and how fast they are delivered also factored high on the list (2).
3. E-Commerce
Statistica projected that almost nine out of 10 gift-buying consumers in 2022 planned on using Amazon for their holiday shopping. Walmart and Target came in second and third, respectively (3).
4. Gift Searches
In 2018, Google data showed that online searches for “_____ day gifts” increased by 70% from 2016. Once consumers found their preferred retailer, 50% of them used the mobile site, so they didn’t have to download another app to their phone (4).
5. Post-Pandemic
International online gift sales increased during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic by 63%. It seems that lockdown and social distancing can’t stop people from giving gifts to each other.
6. Gift Cards Online
Gift cards sometimes have a different set of grievances of their own. Fifty-two percent of consumers polled in 2022 complained about high delivery fees the most. Another 34% hated having to register to buy a gift card, while 29% blamed slow delivery (5).
7. Gen Z
In 2019, 46% of Gen Z consumers used social media to find the perfect gift. Instagram took the top spot for online gift inspiration, followed by Facebook and YouTube.
Global Gifting Market
These gift industry facts and statistics can help better explain how the global gift industry works.
8. Net Worth
In 2019, the global gifting market revenue reached $62 billion worldwide. It’s projected this number will continue to grow by 2% every year (6). With the pandemic occurring in 2020, it seems nothing can stop the steady increase in global gift sales in the future.
9. Physical Stores
By 2014, gift shops and card stores had increased their sales to $20 billion. Six-and-a-half billion people bought greeting cards alone (often at a gift shop), so these sub-sections represent an important chunk of the overall gift industry (7).
10. Gifting Across the Globe
According to a YouGov poll in 2022, 52% of international consumers bought clothes, shoes, and bags as gifts more than other items. These gift choices were followed by food and drink at 48% (8).
11. China Leads Gift Cards
In 2023, China’s gift card industry is expected to reach just over $164 billion. Between 2023 and 2027, their gift card industry could reach $217 billion. That doesn’t even cover the rest of China’s imprint on the gift industry overall (9).
12. Global Gift Retail
According to gift industry statistics and facts, the global retail market should grow by $13 billion between 2023 and 2027, an estimated CAGR increase of 3.01%. These stats include both in-person and online shopping worldwide (10).
13. Greeting Cards Globally
In 2022, the global greeting card market was $15.9 billion, with the U.S. market at $5.1 billion. While the greeting card market may reduce globally to $12.2 billion by 2030, Japan, Canada, and Germany are thought to have the highest growth.
14. Global Projections
When it comes to personalized gifts, the global industry is expected to climb to $43.3 billion by 2027. Social media proves to be a significant reason why the international personalized gift industry continues to grow.
Personalized Gift Industry Statistics
The following points discuss the upward trend of personalized gift-giving and how quickly it’s growing.
15. Personal Worth
In 2021, personalized gifts represented nearly $29,186 million and should grow at a CAGR of 8.32% to reach $47,144 million by 2027 (11).
16. Personal Preference
Sixty-two percent of U.S. consumers told Vistaprint that they prefer personalized gifts over traditional presents (12). The idea that personalized presents feel more authentic and “from the heart” played into this statistic.
17. Personalized Gift Types
Some personalized gifts end up selling better than others. In 2019, personalized photo gifts ranked first, followed by photo books, custom mugs, and household products (13).
18. Top Five
In a December 2022 study, Archies Limited in India was at the top of the key players list for personalized gifts worldwide. They’re followed by American Greetings Corporation in the U.S. and Redbubble in Australia. The top companies may benefit when they can sell in multiple locations, including airports and train stations (14).
19. To Keep or Not To Keep
The same Vistaprint study showed 55% of consumers would keep a personalized gift longer than a non-personalized one. Roughly 40% said they would keep their personalized gifts forever (15).
20. Tell a Friend
Nothing short of 58% of people said a personalized gift is one they’d tell others about over a traditional gift (16). Word-of-mouth can go a long way when it comes to higher future sales for personalized gifts.
21. Millennials Get Personal
A 2017 poll by Etsy revealed that 40% of millennial-aged consumers preferred personalized and customized gifts. This is especially true over the holiday season and particularly with gifts considered “handmade.”
Corporate Gifting Industry Statistics
There’s a wealth of information about corporate gift-giving, which exists in a world all its own.
22. Global Numbers
In 2023, the global corporate gift market reached $242 billion. The number was $125 billion before the pandemic and is projected to climb to over $300 billion in the coming two years (17).
23. The Percentage
Seventeen percent of the total U.S. gift market segment falls under corporate gifting, which totals $22 billion a year.
24. Gift Cards
In the corporate gift world, physical and online gift cards represented the most purchased gifts during 2023 (18).
25. Top Gifts
In 2021, 67% of both consumer and corporate sales bought food gifts. Of those, 46% purchased food-based gift baskets for others, which combines corporate gift-giving with the popularity of gift baskets (19).
26. Remote Work
The Covid 19 pandemic forced many people into remote working situations. This shift made virtual gifts and eGifting (usually through cards or experiences) more common (20).
27. Amount of Spend
A 2022 study showed that a majority of corporate consumers spent between $25 and $125 per item. Within that price range, most spent between $70 and $100 per corporate gift (21).
28. Projections
The corporate gifting market is projected to reach a CAGR of 8.44%, reaching $390 million by 2027 (22). With such a bright future, corporate gifting is likely here to stay.
Holiday Gifting Trends
The holiday season is a special time to give gifts and has its own rules, statistics-wise.
29. Holiday Sales
In 2021, holiday season sales topped off at $889.3 billion. NRF predicted 2022 holiday retail sales would climb between 6 and 8% from 2021 to reach between $942.6 and $960.4 billion. It ended up growing by 5.3% to hit $936.3 billion (23).
30. Gift Cards
In 2022, about half of holiday spending was done on gift cards. Gen Z, in particular, increased their holiday gift card spending by 57% in 2022 (24).
31. Be My Valentine
For Valentine’s Day 2021, about a third of women planned on getting something sweet for their Valentine as a gift. Candies and chocolate gifts were followed by Valentine’s Day cards and perfumes, while floral gifts didn’t make the top five (25).
32. Gift-Wrapped
The total value of gift-wrapping products reached approximately $15.11 billion in 2018. Things like gift wrapping paper and services are projected to climb to $24.9 billion by 2025.
33. Super Saturday
The last Saturday before Christmas is apparently prime-time to get last-minute gift shopping in. In 2022, about 158 million people were expected to hit the shops. Having already done over 50% of their shopping, Super Saturday is known as the day shoppers complete their purchases (26).
34. Inflation-Ready
In 2022, 93% of holiday shoppers said they’d adjust their spending due to inflation. Eighty-two percent did this by buying their holiday gifts between Black Friday and Cyber Weekend.
35. Last-Minute
In 2017, most shoppers bought their holiday gifts the week before December 25. Though some look for same-day shipping to make the online cutoff of December 21, they shop local after that date. The Google search for “where to buy” peaks on December 23 (27).
