Market Trends of South Africa Gift Card and Incentive Card Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the South Africa Gift Card & Incentive Card Market according to our research experts:
Availability of Crypto Purchases Through Gift Cards in South Africa is Anticipated to Boost the Market Growth
The popularity of cryptocurrencies has surged over the last few quarters in South Africa. With this surge in popularity, global payments are entering the South African market through strategic partnerships with physical stores that allow consumers to pay for their purchases in crypto through gift vouchers.
In November 2021, Bitrefill, the global payments firm, launched its services in South Africa. The firm allows consumers to convert their cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins into gift cards at the point-of-sale transactions. Since its launch in the country, Bitrefill has entered into strategic partnerships with several physical stores such as Pick n Pay, Cape Union Mart, Incredible Connection, and Toys R Us, among others.
Apart from physical stores, the firm has partnered with online retailers as well including Mr Delivery, Grabitall, and Netflorist. The entry of Bitrefill in the South African market will allow consumers to pay using their bitcoins across several industries, including telcos, brick-and-mortar stores, as well as restaurants. Currently, Bitrefill offers support for major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and USDT.
Increasing Online Sales is Expected to Drive the Growth of the Gift Card Market in South Africa
Over the last few quarters, online sales have surged significantly in South Africa. According to the publisher, online sales in the country increased by more than 65%. This growth in the e-commerce sector has supported the growth of digital payments, including gift cards in South Africa, over the last four to eight quarters.
With the e-commerce industry expected to continue its upward momentum, the publisher projects the e-commerce market to further drive the adoption of gift cards among both consumers as well as retailers in South Africa. Notably, retailers in the country are expected to offer gift cards to consumers to drive more traffic to their online platform, thereby helping them with customer acquisition. All of these factors will subsequently boost the gift card market growth in the country from the short to medium-term perspective.
