As rising costs continue to affect everyday consumers, gift givers are looking to balance recipient value with budget-friendliness. 

Gift cards are emerging as a leading gifting option this holiday season, with 92% of consumers planning to purchase a gift card. For many (55%), the decision comes down to recipient choice – the defining force of the 2026 peak season. 
 

Choice defines gift giving

For many holiday shoppers, gift cards offer a practical way to give recipients something they’ll use. In fact, the ability to let recipients choose what they buy is the top factor influencing how many gift cards consumers will purchase this holiday season, cited by 55% of respondents. Staying within budget follows at 46%, while immediate delivery (40%) and a lack of other gift ideas (37%) round out the top influences. 

Economic uncertainty is further strengthening the gift card value proposition. Nearly half (48%) of consumers say gift cards provide the greatest value during times of economic uncertainty. This is consistent with 2025 data showing 50% of consumers agreed that gift cards are more valuable in the current economic environment. Today, consumers increasingly view gift cards as a two-sided budgeting tool that gives recipients flexibility while helping gift givers control costs.
 

Digital gift cards gain holiday momentum

Digital adoption continues to grow. Sixty-four percent of consumers are likely or highly likely to purchase a digital gift card instead of a physical gift card this holiday season, representing a 21% increase compared with 2025 (53%). 

Millennials remain the most enthusiastic adopters of digital gift cards, with 78% likely to purchase one this holiday season, compared with 59% last year. Gen X follows at 61%, up from 55% in 2025. Gen Z remains relatively steady at 48%, compared with 47% last year. Meanwhile, the share of baby boomers likely to purchase a digital gift card fell to 32% from 38% in 2025.

While digital adoption continues to climb, consumer purchasing habits remain highly diverse. In-person purchasing remains common, with shoppers most frequently buying gift cards at big-box retailers, grocery stores and retailers' physical stores. Digital purchases are also spread across multiple touchpoints, including retailer websites, online gift card marketplaces, retailer apps, banking apps and mobile wallets.

The lack of a preferred purchase method signals that merchants should maintain an omnichannel gift card strategy to maximize visibility. And as digital gift card adoption shifts unevenly across generations, making purchase options available across channels will be key to reaching interested consumers. 

 

Promotions can influence merchant selection

Holiday shoppers are actively looking for added value, making promotions an important factor in where they buy. Eighty-two percent agree that they would choose one retailer over another in a similar category if the company offered a better gift card promotion. When evaluating which types of promotions to offer, merchants will want to consider that over half (53%) of consumers find bonus gift card value to be the most compelling offer, followed by a discount on the purchase (16%), loyalty points (13%) and cash back (11%). 

Rewards can also encourage both self-purchasing and gifting. Seventy-two percent have purchased a gift card for themselves to take advantage of a promotion, while 66% have purchased one for someone else for the same reason. A simple offer such as "Buy a $100 gift card, receive a $25 bonus card" gives shoppers an immediate benefit while encouraging another visit after the holidays.
 

AI is creating shopping ease and contributing to fraud anxiety 

More than half (57%) plan to use applications such as ChatGPT or Gemini to make gift card shopping easier, including comparing promotions and locating gift card options. 

At the same time, fraud concerns remain elevated. Concern was already widespread in 2025, when 84% of consumers reported at least some level of worry. In 2026, unease is not subsiding. Nearly two-thirds of consumers say they are more concerned about gift card fraud than they were a year ago. Additionally, 64% of consumers say AI has increased their level of concern about gift card fraud this holiday season.

Card tampering in stores ranks as the leading concern at 53%, followed by AI-driven voice cloning and phishing scams (31%) and gift card balance theft (29%). 

For merchants, this presents an opportunity to pair convenience with trust by clearly communicating security measures and fraud-prevention safeguards.
 

Choice and value will shape holiday giving

This year's findings show that consumers are turning to gift cards because they offer something valuable during the holiday season: flexibility. Whether shoppers are looking to stay within budget or give recipients more choice, gift cards continue to help people navigate common holiday gifting challenges. 

For merchants, the opportunity is clear: make gift cards easy to find, easy to buy and easy to trust. Those that successfully combine convenience, choice, promotions and security are likely to be best positioned to capture holiday demand this season.

 

Fiserv’s Q4 2026 Gift Card Gauge is a quarterly poll of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 18 and older. Respondents represent all regions and genders, and the margin of error is +/- 3%.