2022 GIFT VOUCHER REPORT
Many of us start a new year with resolutions. We look ahead and make pledges and promises: to improve – to ‘succeed’ and start making plans on just how we do that.
Instead, what if we took a moment and filled it with congratulations on all that we’ve done, and in all that we’ve achieved together? How many of us have been working in a turbulent backdrop of a cost of living crisis and strikes that have impacted our businesses.
So let’s take that moment to look back at 2022.
And 2023? No resolutions (93% of them fail!) but a heartfelt commitment from us to truly be there for all our clients.
2022, top of the class
From the highest annual sales to the highest number sales of a single gift, 2022 was certainly a record breaking year!
Overall, gift voucher sales have increased by 28% compared to last year, mostly thanks to an increase of items sold, and a stable average order.
Our top client broke their sales record this year, with over £2M sold. 1 out of 3 of our clients had in excess of £100K.
The most popular gift was sold 8,705 times, the equivalent to one every hour all year round! It was a £100 monetary gift with a special offer.
The day of the year with the most sales was Christmas Eve and the peak time was between 12 pm and 1 pm. Black Friday fell just behind Christmas Eve as the busiest date.
Top selling gifts
Here are the most popular experiences sold throughout the year:
£100 and £50
monetary vouchers
Afternoon Tea for 2
with and without champagne
A Spa Day for 2
off peak packages were very popular
Dinner Bed & Breakfast
overnight stays with breakfast and dinner
Gift types review
Not only are Monetary gifts the top selling gift type, it is also the one which increased the most compared to last year, in terms of actual sales.
Spa sales increased by 50% compared to last year, reflecting the restored confidence in buying spa experiences.
Overnight Stay sales remained much the same compared to 2021, but let’s not forget how strong stay sales were last year, so it is positive to see this level of sales maintained.
“We saw gift voucher sales return to more normal levels throughout 2022 – a far cry from the dip in 2020, but the summer months were less buoyant compared to 2021, bearing in mind we experienced increased pent up domestic demand.
Going into the last quarter uncertainty loomed again, not really knowing what impact the economic crisis would have on the gift voucher market. However, in the main, results were strong throughout the festive period, with Black Friday offers performing well. With major delivery issues sparked by Royal Mail strikes in the UK we saw the real benefit of being able to offer digital gifts, with the e-voucher coming into its own with even more items sent digitally than ever before.
In the coming year we’re looking forward to helping our clients continue to grow sales and offer outstanding gift voucher service to their customers by inspiring fresh ideas through our tips and recommendations and working closely with hospitality teams to ensure they have everything they need at their fingertips.“
Buyers’ behaviour
60%+ women
Throughout the year, buyers are predominately female. Men only out buy women a few days before Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas.
61% sessions on mobile
and in terms of conversion, 55% of gift transactions are made on desktop, whilst mobile accounts for 42%.
1/7 repeat buyers
1 out of 7 buyers make more than 1 purchase, the same year or before. We recommend our clients update your email databases to include opted in past buyers on a regular basis.
78% of the social media referrals are from Facebook
Keeping good company!
New clients
Over 100 new venues chose to manage and sell their gift experiences with SK Chase this year. Some of the venues who joined us in 2022 included The Lanesborough, Marine & Lawn Hotels, The Langham Melbourne and Nobu Barcelona.
Established internationally
Over 500 venues in 33 countries trust SK Chase, thanks to our complete gift voucher solution:
- Multi-currency gift shops
- Multi-branded websites
- Group reporting
- Cross-selling
- Unique data intelligence
Helpdesk for our clients
We have a dedicated Helpdesk to assist and support our clients.
We also have 27/7 help with video ‘how to’ guides for most tasks.
- 40+ online bite-size video guides
- Accessible from the SK Chase gift app home screen
- Available in 4 languages (English, French, Spanish and Italian)
What’s new?
Here are some of the system enhancements made in 2022 and what’s coming up!
Dispatch emails
A dispatch email is automatically generated and sent to the buyer once their gift voucher has left our fulfilment warehouse, giving them reassurance, whilst also enhancing their buying experience.
Voucher sales in Catalogue Manager
By adding the vouchers sales to Catalogue Manager, it is much easier to see and manage what vouchers are selling and which ones are not, helping with marketing promotions.
New Order Management
We are working on a new Order Management and Reporting section in the Gift App!
Planning 2023
Whilst key gifting dates are important, there are many opportunities throughout the year to maximise revenue.
We recommend that our clients communicate with their customers about gift experiences on a regular basis (after all, ‘birthday gift’ remains the most popular reason for purchase) to raise awareness of gift vouchers as lovely gifts for any ocassion.
To help stay on track with key gifting seasons periods and dates, clients can use our easy-to-follow gift voucher marketing calendar, which shares what to do, when. Paired with our key dates insights, it helps plan campaigns throughout the year for key gifting dates such as:
Valentine’s Day
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
Black Friday Weekend
Festive Period
