Over the last week, I’ve found myself digging into my autumn wardrobe, finding my coats and jumpers, and transitioning back towards wrapping up warm after a delightfully long and dry summer of sunshine. The seasons are changing: the leaves are turning, pumpkin-spiced lattes are making an appearance, and there’s a distinct sense that Halloween is just around the corner. Autumn heralds a return to the shops, mooching up and down high streets, admiring window displays and getting ready for, dare I say it, Christmas.
Many shops have already begun readying their displays for the holidays in fact, with department stores getting especially ahead of the curve – you can now visit a Christmas section in Selfridges, Harrods’ Christmas shop opened last month, and Harvey Nichols has launched its hampers and gifting in store – and beauty brands have released their annually awaited advent calendars. High street shops are also beginning to display roll neck jumpers and trench coats as they prepare for the pre-holiday season surge.
I love the high street, and this time of year is always inspiring as I start to think about gifts. But in 2025, with the pace of trends in a social media-led society, buying a gift this far in advance can feel presumptuous and it appears I am not the only one who thinks this, as, borne out of this trend-led culture, has been the resurgence of the gift card.
Originally evolving from early book tokens in the UK in the 1930s, the gift card became a staple of present-giving in the 1990s and 2000s with the introduction of plastic credit card-like products. In 2011, gift card sales totalled more than £4 billion, with that rising to around £6bn by 2019. However, with a shift towards digital spending, Apple Pay and other similar tools becoming popular in the 2020s, the physical gift card began to feel like a less relevant, and possibly even inconvenient gift, with fewer than half of adults and only 38% of 18–24-year-olds now carrying a wallet.
But in a report launched earlier this month by McKinsey & Company on the state of European consumer sentiment, it showed that an interest in gift cards is growing once again. This rise in popularity signals an interest towards practical gift giving, rather than a simple bank transfer that can’t be opened or even seen in real life. This has been a fundamental reason for the general success of gift cards over the years, with one BBC article explaining that a gift is a representation of both the receiver, but also a reflection of how the gift giver sees them. Gifting cash can sometimes be seen as lazy, whereas a gift card adds an extra element of personalisation – it says: ‘perhaps I don’t know much about tech, but I know you love it, and this card shows you that’.
“Some consumers treat gift cards almost like an alternative savings account, buying them in advance to ensure that when December comes, there’s already a pot of store credit earmarked for presents.”
The return of the physical gift card hasn’t happened in a vacuum. A ConsumerWise survey revealed that a greater percentage of Gen Z respondents said that they intended to ‘splurge’ on goods rather than services compared to the baby boomer generation who preferred experiences. This shift indicates that spending priorities for younger consumers now lean towards tangible, material purchases, and although this may feel separate to the digital world, marketing and advertising on social media – spending on which reached a record £9.2 billion in the UK in Q1 2024 – actively engages 86% of UK consumers and accounts for 79.7% of total UK spend. This alignment of digital influence and physical purchase makes gift cards the perfect hybrid: they exist in both worlds. They can be bought and sent digitally, yet redeemed in store, or unwrapped just like any other physical present.
What’s particularly interesting is how brands are now leaning into this revival. Fashion retailers are packaging their cards in beautifully designed sleeves, beauty companies are tying them into holiday promotions, and even supermarkets are broadening the range of partner cards available on their racks. Today, it is increasingly positioned as a first-choice option as a well-designed card from Liberty, John Lewis or M&S can feel more intentional than another hastily bought scented candle.
Of course, there are critics. Some argue that a gift card still lacks the spontaneity or romance of a handpicked present. Part of the joy of gift-giving is surprising someone with something they wouldn’t have chosen for themselves, and a gift card, detractors suggest, removes that element. Others point out more practical drawbacks: cards can sit unused in a drawer until the credit quietly expires, or worse, become worthless if the issuing company goes bust. However, data shows that almost all recipients use their gift cards before they expire and over half use them in the first month, putting thoughts of unused credit to bed.
Retail analysts also suggest that the 2025 holiday season could mark a high point for gift card sales, especially as inflation and the cost-of-living crisis continue to shape consumer behaviour. Shoppers are looking for ways to manage budgets more effectively, spreading costs by buying gift cards early, or even using them themselves to lock in discounts and manage personal spending. In fact, some consumers treat gift cards almost like an alternative savings account, buying them in advance to ensure that when December comes, there’s already a pot of store credit earmarked for presents.
And I’m noticing them more now too. Walking through the high street, I have seen racks of gift cards appearing everywhere: a kaleidoscope of colours, logos and brands hanging neatly by the tills. Perhaps they don’t sparkle quite as brightly as a shop window full of fairy lights, but they tell their own story about how we give and how we spend today. It’s a reminder that while trends and technologies shift, the ritual of giving – and the thought behind it – remains constant. And as I wrap up warm, stroll past the glittering displays, and inevitably start my own gift list, I can’t help but think: sometimes the simplest presents really do make the best ones.
