Winning or giving someone a gift card is not exactly as common in Brazil as it is in other countries. But this does not mean that the category is in decline, according to experts consulted by InfoMoney.
According to Edmundo Lima, executive director of ABVTEX (Brazilian Textile Retail Association), surveys by entities in the sector show that most Brazilians still focus on tangible items for gifting, such as clothes, shoes, toys and perfumes, with a strong emphasis on physical stores.
“Giftcards almost never appear among the first spontaneous responses, which helps explain the perception of low popularity in comparison with the United States, for example, despite the consistent growth of the segment”, says the executive.
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Still, the executive argues that interest in the product, which is most used in the category of games, entertainment, digital services and in the corporate world, exists and is growing quickly.
Data from the country’s largest gift card distributor, Blackhawk Network Brasil, shows that more than 16 million gift cards were sold in the country in 2024, generating revenue of R$1.5 billion – annual increases of 6.7% and 15.4%, respectively. In the same period, the average ticket went from R$60 to R$80.
Furthermore, the company shared data from a survey carried out with 1,044 Brazilians, over 18 years old, in January 2025, which found that 4 in 5 respondents purchased gift cards in the previous 12 months. At the time, 89% of those interviewed responded that they planned to buy giftcards in 2025, an increase of 12% compared to the previous yearand 78% shared the intention to buy giftcards digital in the year, an increase of 2% compared to 2024.
Another example of the growth in the use of gift cards was seen recently, pre-Black Friday. According to an exclusive survey carried out by Neotrust, R$19.3 million in giftcards were purchased in e-commerce stores last Wednesday and Thursday (November 26th and 27th), an increase of 16.9% compared to the same days of the pre-Black Friday 2024 week.
Experiences as a gift
For researcher Silvia Quintanilha, associate director of TM20 Branding and professor at the Masters in Market Research and Consumer Insights, the concept of gift cards is on the rise in Brazil.
“People in Brazil and around the world, especially after the pandemic, are valuing less and less goods and more and more experiences. And giving someone an experience as a gift is a gift certificate”, explains Quintanilha.
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Data shows the gain in relevance of experiences on commercial dates. According to the Ibevar-FIA Business School study, the preference for experiential gifts, such as dinners in restaurants and spa days, such as cosmetics and perfumes. In , the intention of giving gifts with experiences — such as weekend trips and trips to gourmet restaurants — was second only to the iPhone.
The same phenomenon was seen on , which recorded an increase in searches for bus tickets in 2025.
“I believe that the gift certificate category is on the rise – but we don’t always relate all the corresponding products to this name. We are giving more gifts with gift certificates without knowing that they are a gift certificate”, he states.
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Global trend
Although Brazil represents a small part of the US$1.29 trillion global giftcard industry, experts believe this is a growing market in the country – as well as around the world.
“Brazilians are more emotional when giving gifts. They prefer tangible items that they personally chose for the recipient, and this works against gift certificates. Another obstacle is that gift certificates have a price and we don’t like to talk about money – it’s worth remembering that the survey was created here that calculates the income of a household by asking how many bathrooms and how many TVs there are in the interviewee’s house to avoid asking how much they earn per month. But life is busy, commuting is increasingly difficult to do, especially in big cities – it’s It is in this reality that the giftcard trend, which is a facilitator, grows”, adds Quintanilha.
The study “Global Gift Card Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2034” by ResearchAndMarkets.com projects the industry to reach US$5.22 trillion globally by 2034.
