A recent Thirstie survey of over 2,000 adult Americans found there is an overwhelming interest in liquor branded gift cards. Given the choice, nearly two times as many consumers would give a gift card for alcohol over a bottle, the survey found. Additionally, high-income consumers’ demand for a top-selling vodka brand gift card is 84.4%, exceeding the demand for leading retail gift cards such as Apple at 76.9% and Starbucks at 76.5%. The survey also showed that 77% of consumers prefer premium and value branded gift cards, criteria that many liquor portfolio companies represent.
The beverage alcohol and gift card industries have seen significant gains year over year and are both expected to continue growth. According to ResearchAndMarkets.com, the global beverage alcohol market is expected to reach $736 billion. Exceeding that market size and growth is the global gift cards industry which is projected to hit $1,922.87 billion by 2027, according to Allied Market Research.
Digital behaviors around gifting in both industries continue to accelerate. Across all Thirstie powered storefronts, 12% of all e-commerce orders were gifts from October 2020 – October 2021; that number jumped to 22% in December 2020. Within the gift card sector, online purchases of gift cards more than doubled in 2020, outperforming the growth in 2019, according to ResearchAndMarkets.com.
Thirstie powered gift cards will enable liquor brands to connect with their consumers through a full omnichannel approach. Brands now have the ability to offer gift cards through both their online storefront and in-store while driving traffic to their digital stores, as cards can only be redeemed through their Thirstie powered sites.
“Liquor branded gift cards will undoubtedly transform not one, but two, multi-billion dollar industries,” continued Southworth. “Our mission at Thirstie has and always will be to redefine the way consumers are interacting with their favorite brands.
By putting brands in a position of control where they have the ability to directly connect with their fanbase, we have been able to solve a major pain point within the beverage alcohol industry. We are excited to take one step further by bringing this innovative solution to the market and helping brands drive consumer adoption to their e-commerce sites and meeting consumer demand while doing so.”