Gift Cards Are No Longer Just Holiday Gifts: The $503.7 Million Opportunity Restaurants Can Turn Into Year-Round Customer Traffic

 

Gift cards have graduated from the holiday stocking stuffer to something much more important: a year-round food marketing, customer acquisition, and revenue-generation tool. For restaurant operators, convenience stores, grocery retailers, and other foodservice businesses, the opportunity is not simply selling more gift cards. It is using those cards to create more consumer occasions, encourage customer migration, build brand relationships, and bring customers back according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. .

New research from Paytronix underscores this changing marketplace. According to its 2026 Gift Card Report, gift card revenue increased 18.3% year over year, climbing from $425.7 million in 2024 to $503.7 million in 2025. Yet the number of cards sold increased just 2.6%, from 11.3 million to 11.6 million.

That difference deserves attention.

Consumers are not necessarily purchasing substantially more cards. They are purchasing higher-value cards. In other words, the gift card business is experiencing a meaningful increase in dollars per transaction.

For foodservice brands competing for increasingly selective consumer spending, that is a marketing opportunity worth recognizing.

Consumers Are Trading Up, Not Simply Buying More

The most interesting finding in the Paytronix research is the shift in gift card denominations.

The $50 gift card was the strongest performer, with unit sales increasing 11.5%, from 1.88 million to 2.10 million cards. Meanwhile, $25 cards declined 5.8%, although they remained the largest denomination by unit volume, with 2.29 million cards sold.

The $10 denomination increased 5.3%, while $5 cards experienced the steepest decline, falling 12.5%.

What does this tell foodservice marketers?

Consumers appear increasingly comfortable giving a more substantial gift or putting more purchasing power behind a single brand relationship.

For restaurants, this creates an opportunity to rethink gift card merchandising. Rather than simply displaying $25 cards at the checkout counter, brands should consider promoting $50 cards, family meal occasions, dinner experiences, bundled offerings, and digital gifting.

A $50 gift card can represent more than a prepaid purchase. It can introduce a household to a restaurant, encourage a family dinner, or give a consumer a reason to try a brand they have not visited previously.

However, operators should not abandon smaller denominations. The $10 card's growth demonstrates that accessible entry points remain relevant.

The objective is to offer choices that match different gifting occasions and consumer budgets.

Full-Service Restaurants Are Finding Growth

Paytronix also identified an important difference between restaurant segments.

Full-Service Restaurants (FSR) led growth, with gift card units increasing 4.4%, reaching nearly 4.3 million cards.

Electronic gift cards increased 3.0%, reaching approximately 972,000 units.

Quick-Service Restaurants (QSR), despite representing approximately 58% of all cards sold, experienced a slight 0.3% decline, with approximately 6.65 million cards sold.

That is a development QSR operators should not overlook.

Quick-service restaurants have historically benefited from convenience, familiarity, accessibility, and frequent consumer visits. Yet the gift card numbers suggest that full-service restaurants are gaining momentum in this particular category.

Could consumers be placing greater emphasis on experiences, shared meals, and occasions when selecting a restaurant gift?

That is a possibility worth exploring.

QSR operators should not assume that convenience alone will sustain gift card growth. They need to make their gift cards more relevant to today's consumer.

Family meals, group occasions, digital gifting, breakfast bundles, snack occasions, and meal deals can all give consumers a reason to purchase a gift card.

The winning strategy is to sell the occasion, not just the card.

Digital Gifting Is Changing the Customer Relationship

Electronic gift cards accounted for approximately 8.4% of total card volume in the Paytronix data.

While that remains a relatively small portion of the overall market, its continued growth demonstrates the importance of digital accessibility.

Consumers want to purchase and deliver gifts when and where it is convenient for them. A birthday, graduation, thank-you, employee recognition, or last-minute celebration no longer requires a trip to a physical store.

For foodservice brands, digital gift cards also create opportunities to connect gifting with loyalty, mobile ordering, online ordering, and personalized marketing.

A digital gift card can become an entry point into a brand's broader customer engagement ecosystem.

But there is an important distinction: selling a digital card is not the same as creating a digital customer relationship. Brands must have a plan to encourage redemption, introduce customers to their menus, and provide reasons to return.

The National Restaurant Association's 2025 Off-Premises Restaurant Trends research found that nearly 75% of restaurant traffic occurs off-premises. It also found that 65% of drive-thru customers and more than 60% of takeout and delivery customers say loyalty program membership influences where they order.

That makes the connection between gift cards, loyalty, digital ordering, and off-premises dining particularly important.

A gift card should work across the consumer's preferred access points, whether that means dining in, ordering takeout, using the drive-thru, or arranging delivery where available.

Redemption Speed Matters: The Clock Is Working in Restaurants' Favor

Another encouraging Paytronix finding is that consumers are redeeming gift cards faster.

Average days to redemption declined from 32.7 days in 2024 to 31.1 days in 2025, a 5% improvement.

That matters because redemption represents an opportunity to create an actual foodservice transaction.

The gift card purchaser may be the person who introduces the recipient to a brand. The recipient becomes a potential customer. The redemption visit becomes an opportunity to sell additional food, beverages, desserts, sides, and future occasions.

However, redemption should not be treated as the finish line.

The real marketing opportunity begins when the recipient walks through the door or places an online order.

Restaurants should use that first redemption occasion to introduce loyalty enrollment, encourage a second visit, promote a relevant menu item, and create a reason to return.

In the Grocerant Niche, where consumers migrate between restaurants, grocery prepared foods, convenience stores, and other fresh-prepared food destinations, every new consumer interaction matters.

A gift card can be the introduction. The food, service, convenience, and experience must earn the next visit.

December Is Still King, But the Opportunity Is Expanding

According to Paytronix, December accounted for approximately 31% of annual gift card volume in both 2024 and 2025.

Yet December 2025 sales were essentially flat compared with the previous year, at approximately 3.623 million cards.

The more interesting development is what happened outside the traditional holiday season.

January gift card sales increased 16.2%, April increased 10%, and June increased 10.1%.

These numbers suggest that gift cards have opportunities beyond Christmas, Hanukkah, and other traditional holiday gifting occasions.

Think about the possibilities:

·       January: New Year's celebrations, resolutions, and employee recognition.

·       February: Valentine's Day, friendship, and shared dining experiences.

·       March and April: Spring celebrations, Easter, and graduation gifting.

·       May and June: Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations, and summer gatherings.

·       July and August: Travel, family reunions, and summer celebrations.

·       September and October: Back-to-school appreciation, birthdays, and employee recognition.

·       November and December: Holiday gifting, corporate incentives, and family celebrations.

Every month offers a reason to connect consumers with a food brand.

The National Restaurant Association reported in December 2024 that 59% of American adults planned to give restaurant gift cards during the holiday season. That figure increased to 74% among Gen Z adults and 70% among Millennials.

Those findings reinforce the potential of restaurant gift cards to reach consumers across generations.

Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation projected $29 billion in total gift card spending during the 2025 holiday season. Gift cards ranked as the second-most popular holiday gift category.

The market is large, but the opportunity for restaurant brands is to capture a greater share of those dollars and turn gifting into repeat business.

Gift Cards Must Deliver Price, Value, and Convenience

There is another consideration foodservice operators cannot ignore: consumers remain price-conscious.

The National Restaurant Association projected 2026 restaurant and foodservice sales of $1.55 trillion, while identifying persistent operating costs and cautious household spending as continuing industry challenges.

Its 2026 industry research also found that 61% of consumers consider restaurants essential to their lifestyles and intend to continue prioritizing dining out.

That creates a balancing act for restaurant marketers.

Consumers want convenience, quality, service, and experiences, but they also want to feel that their money is being well spent.

A gift card can help communicate value without requiring a brand to permanently discount its menu.

For example, a restaurant can merchandise a $50 gift card alongside a family meal experience, a special occasion dinner, or a seasonal menu promotion. The card becomes a vehicle for purchasing power and an introduction to a particular dining occasion.

Brands can also create incremental sales opportunities through suggested pairings, limited-time offers, and loyalty incentives.

The important point is to avoid confusing a gift card promotion with a discounting strategy.

Gift cards should strengthen the brand's Price Value Service Equilibrium. The consumer must believe the food, service, convenience, and experience justify choosing that brand again.

The Grocerant Guru® Perspective: Stop Treating Gift Cards as a Holiday Department

Gift cards are not merely a financial transaction or a seasonal retail item. They are a customer acquisition vehicle, a brand introduction, a potential loyalty trigger, and an opportunity to influence future food purchasing behavior.

The Paytronix findings reveal three important developments: higher-value denominations are gaining momentum, full-service restaurants are growing their share of gift card activity, and redemption is happening faster.

For restaurant and food retailers, the next step should be connecting those findings to consumer behavior.

Brands must stop thinking in terms of selling a card and start thinking about selling the next food occasion.

The consumer does not think in channel silos. A household may use a restaurant gift card for dinner, purchase fresh-prepared meals at a grocery deli the next evening, and pick up breakfast at a convenience store the following morning.

Every brand needs to remain relevant at the intersection of price, time, flavor, convenience, and service.

Gift cards can help accomplish that objective, but only when they are integrated into an ongoing customer engagement strategy.

Three Grocerant Guru® Insights: How Gift Cards Can Help a Brand All Year Long

1. Gift Cards Are Customer Acquisition Tools, Not Just Revenue Tools.

Every gift card represents an opportunity to introduce a new consumer to your brand. The purchaser may already be a loyal customer, but the recipient could be a first-time visitor. Make redemption the beginning of a relationship through loyalty enrollment, personalized offers, and reasons to return.

2. Merchandise Gift Cards Around Food Occasions, Not Just Holidays.

Birthdays, graduations, employee recognition, family meals, sporting events, summer travel, and everyday appreciation create year-round opportunities. Connect gift cards to specific meals, menu bundles, and experiences. Sell the occasion and the food, not simply the denomination.

3. Use Gift Cards to Create Repeat Visits and Increase Customer Lifetime Value.

The initial redemption is only the beginning. Connect gift cards with loyalty programs, mobile ordering, seasonal menu introductions, and targeted promotions. Measure not just cards sold, but redemption, incremental spending, repeat visits, and long-term customer engagement.

The Bottom Line: Gift cards should never be relegated to a holiday display or an occasional promotional campaign. They are a year-round marketing asset. Brands that understand how to turn a gift into a food experience, and that experience into a repeat customer, will be better positioned to grow.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.