BHN study spots opportunities to strengthen digital gift card programs

BHN study identifies opportunities to strengthen digital gift card programs

Artificial intelligence is changing how consumers discover and purchase gift cards, creating new opportunities for retailers to improve digital gift card programs and strengthen customer engagement, according to Blackhawk Network's ninth annual Best Direct Digital Gift Cards Benchmark Report.

Developed with NAPCO Research, the 2026 report evaluated direct digital gift card programs from 120 brands across the United States and Canada, spanning 19 retail and service categories. The study examined 147 criteria covering the customer experience from gift card discovery and purchase through delivery and redemption across desktop, mobile web and mobile apps.

"AI is increasingly the starting point for the consumer shopping journey, directing shoppers toward the brands and products they see first," Talbott Roche, CEO and president of BHN, said in a statement. "The strongest programs make gift cards easy to find, personalize, purchase and use across the digital channels consumers already rely on."

AI changes gift card discovery

The report found that 33 percent of shoppers now use AI tools to compare products and find the best prices when purchasing gifts. However, only 61 percent of the brands evaluated met the study's AI search criteria, while just 5% offered AI-powered gifting recommendations.

According to BHN, those findings suggest many retailers could improve the visibility of gift card offers, promotions and use cases in AI-driven search and recommendation engines.

The report also highlighted growing consumer demand for personalization and flexibility. While 66 percent of brands support gift card delivery by text message, fewer than half allow customers to schedule delivery for a future date. Features such as custom designs, personalized messages, variable denominations and multi-recipient gifting can improve the customer experience, the report stated.

Mobile experience remains critical

Mobile usability continues to distinguish leading digital gift card programs from their competitors. The three highest-performing retail sectors averaged 85 percent across the study's mobile experience criteria, compared with 41 percent for the three lowest-performing sectors.

The study also found that many brands underutilize gift cards as year-round marketing tools. Brands averaged just 34 percent on the report's marketing assessment, despite research showing consumers purchase gift cards for a wide variety of occasions beyond the holidays, including birthdays, Valentine's Day and thank-you gifts. Nearly 40% of shoppers surveyed said promotions or bonus offers make them more likely to purchase a gift card.

BHN also emphasized the importance of omnichannel experiences that allow consumers to purchase, deliver, redeem and manage gift cards across websites, mobile apps and digital wallets. According to the company, integrating those capabilities can encourage repeat customer engagement while helping brands retain spending within their own ecosystems.

The report includes benchmark scores by industry category and recommendations intended to help brands evaluate and improve their direct digital gift card programs.

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