Recorded sales of gift cards and vouchers across the business-to-business (B2B) sector have made a promising start to the year, managing growth of nearly 6% between January – March.
New figures from the UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (UKGCVA) show redeemable rewards working their magic on the corporate world, with this having a noticeable impact on sales across the industry.
B2B pays it forward
UKGCVA says the growth in B2B sales of gift cards and vouchers during the first quarter contributed greatly to a 10.5% rise in sales of rewards within the UK.
Category specific gift cards performed strongly across all markets, recording growth of almost 8% during the first three months of 2014.
Still, it was the growing acceptance of gift cards and vouchers in the B2B arena that stole the headlines, as direct and online sales of corporate rewards managed growth of 5.6% and 3.9% respectively.
A sign of things to come?
UKGCVA director Andrew Johnson said the growth demonstrates that more companies are becoming aware of using vouchers to incentivise their customers and reward employees.
“Performance during the first period of any given year could be described as the litmus test for what retailers can expect for the year ahead,” he commented.
“It’s encouraging to see a boost in consumer confidence, which has contributed to the increase in consumer gift card and voucher sales.”