Consumer gift card and voucher sales continued their strong growth by 6.14% into the fourth quarter of 2014, according to statistics from The UK Gift Card & Voucher Association (UKGCVA), the trade body representing key players in the £5 billion gift voucher, cards and stored value solutions market.

The figures are backed up by a new report compiled independently by consultants at BDO, which shows that in Q4, the gift card and voucher industry grew by 8.43%, bringing growth for the full year to 8.07%.

The most popular product within consumer sales is still category specific-gift cards, which made up 55.75% of total consumer sales.  Growth in consumer gift cards and vouchers during Q4 was also driven by Christmas purchases, with sales representing 59.43% of the total market compared to just 39.61% during Q3.

Andrew Johnson, director-general of the UKGCVA, consumers were clearly reacting well to the growing variety of voucher products on offer, particularly that could be redeemed in multiple outlets. “Overall 2014 has been an incredibly successful year for the gift card and voucher market, and although we predicted B2C growth, the rate at which it has occurred has far outstripped our expectations.”