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Gift cards remained a popular choice during the 2025 holiday season, with 56% of respondents reporting they received at least one. CivicScience took a closer look at how those recipients plan to spend their cards, and while the overall share has remained relatively steady year over year, spending intentions are shifting.
Gift Card Spending on Health and Wellness Items See Largest YoY Growth
Those who received a gift card, like in prior years, continue to cite essentials (e.g., gas, groceries, and household items) as their most common priority for gift card spending, though this share has dipped slightly from the 2024 holiday season and now returns to 2023 levels. Notably, the most significant shift in gift card spending this year is an increasing emphasis on health and wellness items, which has jumped five percentage points since 2024, now standing at 21%. This aligns with CivicScience’s 2026 spending intention data, which shows that health and wellness is likely to be a key focus of overall consumer spending in 2026.
Beyond these, clothing and experiences (e.g., travel, dining out) remain in the top three gift card spending categories, with intent to spend on experiences ticking up slightly from the 2024 holiday season, suggesting increased interest in activities that support mental well-being.
Targeting Holiday Gift Card Recipients: Key Insights to Know
While consumers can’t necessarily control which gifts they receive during the holidays, CivicScience data reveals clear behavioral distinctions among those who receive gift cards. This group – skewing younger (under age 45) – is more likely to report differences in shopping behaviors, spending patterns, and what influences their online purchases.
Below is a snapshot of the consumer-declared nuances that exist beyond demographics, highlighting the granular tracking available through CivicScience:
Gift card spending provides a unique lens into the consumer mindset when shoppers are given full autonomy over how a gift is used, particularly as a majority received one over the holidays. While essentials still matter most, the data suggests that gift cards are encouraging more discretionary, treat-yourself behavior compared to the 2024 holiday season – aligning with broader trends toward prioritizing health and wellness purchases.
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