Gift cards are increasingly popular among Hispanics

E-tailers offering gift cards will likely see strong business this holiday season. According to recent reports, consumers expect to spend more on gift cards over the 2007 holiday season than in 2006. One report suggests that Hispanic consumers spend the most on gift cards.

by Kristina Knight

Gift cards are expected to have a booming year in 2007, with 69% of consumers expected to purchase the cards this year. Purchasing gift cards is forecasted to be especially strong for Hispanic consumers.

According to a recent Comdata study, Hispanic consumers spend on average $71 per gift card. Comparatively, Caucasian consumers spend about $41 per card and African-American consumers spend about $60 per gift card.

Hispanics aren't only buying the cards as gifts, however. Many Hispanics reported in the study that they gave gift cards to children to help them learn budgeting skills.

Hispanic consumers purchase gift cards for personal use (40%) as well as gift options. They purchase gift cards both on-and-offline and spend more per gift card than either African-American or Caucasian consumers.

This report suggests that e-tailers targeting Hispanic demographics should tout their gift card capabilities because not only are Hispanic consumers purchasing high-dollar gift cards, but many spend more per store visit than the card's dollar amount. This makes the Hispanic demographic a very solid demographic to target for gift card purchases.