This year, chicken was the most popular gift sent by companies to employees and customers during the summer holiday. Additionally, sales of department store and supermarket gift cards, which allow recipients to choose their preferred items, increased more than tenfold, highlighting a growing trend toward practicality and choice in corporate gifting.
KT Alpha's corporate mobile gift card service, Giftishow Biz, analyzed data from companies' gift sending around the first summer holiday on July 15. The analysis revealed that chicken firmly maintained its position as the representative gift for the holiday.
Gift cards for department stores and supermarkets, which are highly versatile, and ice cream gift cards, driven by increased demand due to the heatwave, showed the highest growth rates.
On July 20, KT Alpha analyzed sending data from July 12 to 15, around the first summer holiday, and found that chicken gift cards accounted for 57.5% of all gifts sent, securing a dominant first place.
Giftishow Biz is a mobile gift card service for businesses that allows bulk sending of employee welfare coupons, purchase incentives, and event prizes.
The item with the highest growth rate was department store and supermarket gift cards. Although they accounted for only 4.1% of total sends, their sales increased by 1027% compared to the same period last year.
The company attributed this trend to a preference for gift cards that allow recipients to use them according to their tastes and needs, rather than companies designating specific foods or brands.
Sales of products related to the heat also saw significant increases. Ice cream gift cards rose by 413% compared to the previous year, surpassing delivery gift cards to take second place.
Sales of coffee gift cards, which are relatively less expensive, also increased by 327%. The demand for cool food gifts such as ice cream, shaved ice, and beverages expanded due to the heat surrounding the first summer holiday.
The use of mobile gift cards by companies is also broadening. As of May, the cumulative number of corporate clients for Giftishow Biz surpassed 200,000.
Among the clients, small and medium-sized enterprises accounted for 39%, while individual business owners made up 38%, indicating that over 90% of users are small-scale businesses. Mobile gift cards are becoming common not only for employee welfare in large corporations but also as promotional and prize tools for small businesses. Notably, through targeted specialized sales aimed at business-to-business (B2B) clients and proactive partnerships with large platforms, the total transaction volume surged by 43.3%.
Lee Jeong-ho, head of KT Alpha's G-Commerce division, stated, "Recent preferences for mobile gift cards among companies indicate a shift towards respecting the tastes and choices of the recipients rather than providing predetermined gifts. The demand for gifts that allow recipients to choose their desired brands and products is steadily increasing, even for summer holiday gifts."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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