Hispanics buying most gift cards

Article in BrandWeek reports that Hispanics spend more on gift cards than any other ethnic group. According to Comdata-Stored Value Solutions, Hispanics purchase an average value of $71, African-Americans spend $60 and Caucasians spend $41 on the average gift card purchase. The amount spent by Hispanics soared 87% compared to last year, per CSVS which polled 800 consumers online between Sept. 12-18.

The main reasons cited are that Retailers are actively marketing to this segment in a culturally-relevant manner, and the fact Hispanics are "underbanked" leads 26% of Hispanics to buy cards to their children in rather than an allowance or as a budgeting tool.

Other findings"
-- Hispanics are more likely to buy gift cards for themselves (40%) vs. Caucasians (30%) and African-Americans (24%);
-- Hispanics, always or often, spend more than the value of the card (69%) compared to Caucasians (52%) and African-Americans (44%).
-- Hispanics buy cards with higher initial values and are most likely to reload the cards.