Dive Brief:
- During the Thanksgiving weekend, consumers spent 7.3% more on restaurant gift cards compared to the same period in 2022, according to Paytronix data.
- Cyber Monday continued to outpace Black Friday as the highest sales period for both physical and digital restaurant gift card sales.
- November and December typically make up 45% of annual gift card sales for restaurants, with a bulk of those sales coming between Thanksgiving and Christmas, according to Paytronix.
Dive Insight:
Over the weekend, the total number of gift cards sold was up 0.4% with digital cards up 8.5% compared to physical card sales’ decline of 2.6%. Both quick-service and full-service restaurants benefited from gift card sales growth during the holiday weekend, with dollars spent for QSR gift cards up 2% while FSR gift card sales were up 9.6%.
This data could be encouraging for restaurants marketing gift cards, especially since the number of gift cards sold was down 5% during the 2022 holiday season, per Patronix’s Restaurant Gift Card Sales Report 2023.
Several chains have been offering special promotions for gift card purchases as a way to boost traffic after the holidays, which is typically a slow period for restaurants. The Cheesecake Factory is offering $15 bonus cards for every $50 gift card purchased online through the end of the year. These bonus cards are redeemable from Jan. 1 through Feb. 29. California Pizza Kitchen is offering a $20 bonus gift card for customers who spend $100 on gift cards through the end of the year to use from Jan. 2 to Feb. 7.
