Despite the branding advantages of physical gift cards, the growth of companies like Giftango, which recently expanded into Australia, reflects the strong market trend towards digitization.   Brands are finding them forced to relinquish the key strengths of physical gift cards and shift toward digital delivery of gift cards.  

This shift is reflective of the relative power of buyers over vendors when it comes to loyalty related platforms.  Whereas in the past, brands could dictate platforms to some extent, buyer empowerment via digital channels has shifted that balance and forced companies to adjust their tactics to match buyers preferences.