The average Kiwi has $72 in unused gift card credit a survey has found. Photo / Dean Purcell
Kiwis are being warned to check the expiry date on their gift cards with millions of dollars in unused credit across the country.
A nationally representative survey by Finder, a financial information business, found the average Kiwi has $72 in unused gift card credit - equivalent to a national outlay of $267 million.
A Consumer NZ survey also found one in five gift cards expired before its full value was redeemed.
Envy Fashions Rotorua manager Jacqui Warbrick said the owner-operator store had a one-year expiry date on vouchers but honoured the voucher regardless.
She said a list of details of everyone with a voucher was kept on hand and people were contacted when it neared the expiry date.
If someone was unable to come in beforehand, the date was extended, and the gift cards were honoured if brought into the store after the date.
"Especially with the way things are at the moment ... we have to look after our customers and the business."
This meant unused credit was very uncommon, she said.
A Mount Maunganui retail manager, who could not use her name or the company name, said there were unused gift cards dating back to 2018.
She said while most people spent it within the first few months of getting it, others had seemed to forget about it.
She said the unused cards dating back years was likely linked to the closed borders and could have been travellers who had to go home after receiving the gift.
The staff of five meant all employees knew most customers and did what they could to look after them.
The Finder survey found men had $90 in unused gift cards and women had $54.
It also found 45 per cent of the Gen Y surveyed had unused cards, which was the highest representation of lost credit.
Finder's editor-at-large Angus Kidman said the gift cards can be practical gifts, but the buyer should make sure the recipient would use it and encouraged people to check the expiry dates.
Consumer NZ head of communications and campaigns Gemma Rasmussen said the organisation did not believe people were given enough time to redeem their cards.
Rasmussen said people often held on to gift cards waiting for a sale or for something they'd like to purchase, "unaware their gift card may carry a stingy expiry period".
Australian law stated gift cards must be valid for a minimum of three years, but there was no equivalent law in New Zealand, she said.
"This means that some businesses that operate on both sides of the Tasman, like Harvey Norman and Bendon, have a more generous expiry period for their Australian customers, compared to their New Zealand counterparts."
She said it did not think people were given enough time to redeem cards and retailers gained "significant" benefits from sales.
Retail sales data showed customers who redeem gift cards often spent more than the value of the card, she said.
This was through payments in advance with the prospect of more sales when the card is used.
In Canada, expiry dates are banned, and in the US and Ireland, the expiry date is at least five years.
"We think it's time New Zealanders were on the receiving end of more generous expiry periods."
Meanwhile, if customers become fed up with "stingy" expiry periods and less inclined to buy them, it wouldn't be good news for businesses.
Retail NZ chief executive Greg Harford most major retailers extended expiry dates by "substantial periods" in recent years to give Kiwis "maximum" chance to use the vouchers.
He said most people used gift vouchers quickly, and a lot of the unused balances were "quite small" while some cards got lost.
Harford said expiry dates should be clearly communicated at the time of purchase so that both purchasers and recipients are clear on how long they last.
He said gift cards helped support local businesses and regional economies while buying for hard-to-buy-for loved ones.
The Finder nationally representative survey was of 1507 Kiwis from October 2021.