(MENAFN- GlobeNewsWire - Nasdaq) Opportunities in the UK gift card market include shifting to wallet-based, reusable cards to enhance consumer utility and reduce customer service issues. Employers and public-sector buyers can leverage controlled-spend gift cards for better budget management. Integrating gift cards into digital marketplaces boosts platform stickiness, while managing them as a payment category helps mitigate fraud risks.Dublin, Feb. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "United Kingdom Gift Card Business and Investment Opportunities Databook - 90+ KPIs on Gift Card Market Size, Retail & Corporate Spend, Competitive Landscape, and Consumer Demographics - Q1 2026 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets's offering.
The Gift Card market in the United Kingdom is expected to grow by 7.6% on annual basis to reach US$12.62 billion in 2026. The gift card market in the country has experienced robust growth during 2021-2025, achieving a CAGR of 8.1%. This upward trajectory is expected to continue, with the market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2026-2030. By the end of 2030, the Gift Card sector is projected to expand from its 2025 value of USD 11.72 billion to approximately USD 16.66 billion.
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Over the next 2-4 years, competition is expected to polarise. Large retailers and platforms will continue to internalise gift-card issuance as part of their ecosystem strategy, while intermediaries will compete on corporate reach, compliance, and programmability. Smaller, undifferentiated aggregators are likely to face margin pressure unless they specialise in B2B, public-sector, or benefits-led use cases.
This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the Gift Card industry in United Kingdom, covering growth opportunities and potential constraints across multiple retail sectors. With more than 90+ KPIs, this report delivers a comprehensive view of gift card market dynamics, including market size and outlook, spend patterns, digital adoption, and competitive market share insights.
Current State of the Market: Consolidate Around Scale, Compliance, and Distribution Reach
The UK gift card market is characterised by moderate-to-high competitive intensity, with activity concentrated among large retailers, platform ecosystems, and a small group of specialist intermediaries. Physical gift cards remain visible in grocery and high-street retail, but competitive advantage is increasingly defined by digital fulfilment capability, fraud controls, and corporate distribution. Retailers with national footprints dominate consumer-facing issuance, while B2B demand is served through structured programmes rather than ad-hoc gifting. Standalone gift-card storefronts play a limited role, mainly as aggregation layers rather than primary consumer destinations.
Key Players and New Entrants: Defend Positions Through Ecosystems and Corporate Access
Large retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Marks & Spencer anchor the market through closed-loop cards supported by strong store and app ecosystems. Platform-led players, notably Amazon UK, use gift cards as prepaid balances across broader digital consumption. Intermediaries such as Blackhawk Network and Edenred focus on corporate distribution, incentives, and employee benefits. New entrants tend to appear as API-driven reward or benefits platforms, often bundling gift cards alongside payroll, wellbeing, or expense tools rather than competing head-on in consumer retail.
Shift Gift Cards from Disposable Codes to Persistent Wallet-Based Store Value
UK retailers are repositioning gift cards as reusable, wallet-stored value rather than single-use codes sent by email or printed on plastic. Major grocers and mass merchants are enabling gift cards to sit alongside loyalty credentials and payment barcodes in mobile wallets. For example, Sainsbury's supports eGift Cards stored in Apple Wallet, where balances update automatically after partial redemption rather than requiring reissue. This changes gift cards from a one-off gifting instrument into a stored retail balance that can be revisited repeatedly. UK retail is increasingly app-led, particularly in grocery and convenience, where scan-and-go, digital receipts, and account-based pricing are now standard. Retailers want gift cards to behave like other account-linked value instruments (loyalty points, vouchers, store credit) to reduce customer-service issues related to lost emails, expired links, and balance confusion. Wallet storage also aligns with broader consumer expectations that value should be retrievable instantly at checkout. Wallet-native gift cards are likely to become the default digital format for large UK retailers. Expect more merchants to retire "one-time code" logic in favour of persistent balances, increasing repeat usage and pushing investment into real-time balance visibility and fraud controls.
Use Gift Cards as Controlled-Spend Instruments for Employers and Public-Sector Buyers
Gift cards are increasingly used in the UK as constrained-spend tools for employers, local authorities, and programme administrators rather than as discretionary rewards. Retailers such as Tesco and Marks & Spencer continue to support bulk digital gift cards for staff recognition, benefits, and hardship support schemes, where spend needs to be limited to essential or approved categories. UK employers and institutions face pressure to replace cash-like disbursements with instruments that are easier to audit and restrict. Gift cards offer defined acceptance, clearer reconciliation, and lower risk of misuse compared with cash or open-loop prepaid cards. Broader scrutiny on benefit delivery and public-fund usage reinforces demand for controlled retail spend. B2B and institutional demand will remain a structural growth driver. Retailers with strong national footprints and digital fulfilment will increasingly tailor gift-card programmes around spend controls, expiry logic, and reporting rather than consumer gifting features.
Treat Third-Party Gift Cards as a Fraud-Managed Payment Category
UK retailers are reframing high-value third-party gift cards (e.g., gaming, app-store, and digital services cards) as risk-sensitive payment products. Supermarkets and high-street chains have strengthened point-of-sale prompts, purchase limits, and staff training in response to ongoing gift-card fraud and scam-related complaints, particularly when cards are used as substitutes for scam payments. Consumer-protection messaging from banks, retailers, and authorities continues to emphasise gift-card misuse in scams. Retailers bear operational and reputational risk when customers claim they were misled into buying gift cards under pressure. This has elevated gift cards from a merchandising issue to a payments-risk issue within UK retail operations. Expect more friction at checkout for certain card types and values, tighter SKU-level controls, and clearer refund and dispute policies. Fraud-related governance will increasingly shape which gift cards retailers choose to stock and how they are sold.
Integrate Gift Cards into Marketplace and Platform Ecosystems Rather Than Standalone Stores
UK consumers increasingly encounter gift cards inside large digital platforms rather than on dedicated gift-card websites. Amazon UK positions gift cards as a native balance that can be used across retail, digital content, and subscriptions, thereby reinforcing platform stickiness rather than treating them as seasonal items. Platform-centric commerce dominates UK online retail. Embedding gift cards inside existing accounts simplifies distribution, reduces reliance on aggregators, and keeps value circulating within a single ecosystem. For platforms, gift cards act as prepaid balances that smooth spending over time. Platform-embedded gift cards will continue to gain share, while standalone gift-card storefronts will struggle unless they offer aggregation or corporate-focused services. Retailers without strong digital platforms may increasingly rely on third-party marketplaces for distribution.
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