The summer sales have emerged as one of the key events of the year for gift card. From June 25 to July 22, 2025, the gift card once again demonstrated its ability to boost the activity of retailers.
Discover our in-depth analysis* of the gift card market results during the summer sales of 2025 in France. Find valuable insights that will help you anticipate upcoming key moments for gift cards and adapt your future strategies!
Gift cards holding steady during the summer sales!
Despite an overall decline in sales during the 2025 summer sales compared to 2024, gift cards have resisted this downward trend. In fact, the number of gift cards activated in-store rose by 18.32%, confirming strong momentum at physical points of sale. On the web, however, activated cards saw a slight decrease of -1.17%.
As for average purchase amounts, in-store gift cards experienced a slight increase (+1.03%), while online values dropped more sharply (-8.70%).
Gift card study – summer sales
Top 3 sectors in 2024
Three sectors stood out in 2024 for the number of gift card activations, both in-store and online:
In-store
- 69% Culture / Multimedia / Home Appliances
- 20% Children’s universe (clothing / toys)
- 6% Sports & Leisure
Online
- 35% Culture / Multimedia / Home Appliances
- 32% Children’s universe (clothing / toys)
- 23% Fashion universe
Top 3 sectors in 2025
The top 3 sectors remained unchanged in 2025, both in-store and online.
In-store
- 71% Culture / Multimedia / Home Appliances
- 18% Children’s universe (clothing / toys)
- 5% Sports & Leisure
Online
- 46% Culture / Multimedia / Home Appliances
- 28% Children’s universe (clothing / toys)
- 15% Fashion universe
The stability in rankings between 2024 and 2025 highlights the dominant role played by these three key sectors in the gift card market.
Culture / Multimedia / Home appliances and the Children’s category continue to lead consumer preferences, both in-store and online.
Gift card during the summer sales: a preferred payment method
Do the French use their gift cards to make purchases during the sales? The answer is yes!
Our study reveals a significant increase in the use of gift cards, both in-store (+20.97% compared to 2024) and on retailers’ e-commerce websites (+16.58%).
In 2025, the distribution of used gift cards by sector is nearly identical to that of the 2024 summer sales. The top three sectors remain unchanged, with nearly identical proportions.
Top 3 categories in stores
- “Culture / Multimedia / Home Appliances” retains first place with 78% (+3 point vs 2024).
- The “Children” category ranks second with 9%, identical to 2024
- “Sports & Leisure” drops to third place with 8% (-2 pts compared to 2024)
Top 3 categories online
- “Children” leads with a stable 52% year-over-year
- “Culture / Multimedia / Home appliances” rises slightly (37% vs 35% in 2024) and keeps second place
- “Fashion” remains in third, but drops 2 points from 9% to 7%
Like gift card purchases, gift card usage remains remarkably stable during the 2025 sales period. While volumes have increased, sector preferences among French consumers remain mostly unchanged.
Though market share distribution is stable, the standout trend is the sharp rise in the number of gift cards used during the sales. This significant increase highlights the growing importance of gift cards in consumer habits—especially during times when people enjoy giving and treating themselves.
B2B / B2C balance during the summer sales
While B2B usually dominates throughout the year, the two segments are evenly matched during the summer sales. In terms of activated cards, B2C represents 49% of sales (+8.34% compared to 2024), versus 51% for B2B (+26.89% year-over-year). In terms of total value, however, B2B still leads with 56% of the total activated amount.
That said, these numbers are far from the 70–80% market share B2B holds during the holiday season. This difference can be explained by the overlap with summer vacation, which slows economic activity and impacts B2B transactions.
Nevertheless, this balance illustrates the importance for retailers not to overlook the B2C market during the sales period. Meanwhile, B2B continues to show strong growth. A well-rounded gift card strategy should therefore integrate both B2B and B2C markets.
Gift card solution
Would you like to launch your gift card program? Do you want to develop on the B2B market?
Gift cards have truly established themselves as a summer sales essential. Our analysis highlights their steady and continuous growth, along with the ongoing dominance of leading sectors. B2B may be less dominant in this period, especially compared to the rest of the year. These insights and trends offer valuable takeaways for retailers looking to anticipate market shifts and fine-tune their marketing strategies.
*The insights presented in this article are based on data collected between June 25 and July 22, 2025, and compared to the same period in 2024. All figures are drawn from retailers using Global POS’s Easy2Play gift card solution.
