How to sell gift vouchers online: 7 steps for UK small businesses, with costs, expiry rules and VAT

TL;DR: To sell gift vouchers online, add them to your own website as a product (WooCommerce and Shopify both support this) or use the booking or till system you already have, then email each buyer a code they can spend online or in person. Write clear terms, including the expiry date, and show them before payment. UK gift cards are now estimated at £10.7 billion a year, and digital cards make up 70% of sales among the issuers the GCVA tracks.

Key takeaways

• The simplest way to sell gift vouchers online is to add them to your own website as a product, so buyers pay and get a code by email straight away.
• UK gift cards are worth an estimated £10.7 billion a year, and 24% of UK adults bought or received one in the past year, according to the Gift Card and Voucher Association (GCVA).
• Digital cards make up 70% of sales among the issuers the GCVA tracks, and they are loaded with more money than physical cards: a median of £59 against £47.
• On WooCommerce, the official Gift Cards extension costs £60 a year, and free plugins exist. Shopify has gift cards built in.
• Expiry dates are allowed, but the buyer must know about them when they buy, so show your terms before payment.
• If you are VAT registered, whether you charge VAT when the voucher is sold or when it is spent depends on the type of voucher.

A gift voucher is one of the few things a small business can sell at midnight on Christmas Eve. If you sell gift vouchers online, the buyer pays in a minute, the voucher lands in their inbox, and you get the money now for a visit that often comes in the quieter months.

This guide covers the ways to sell gift vouchers online, what each one costs, how to word your terms, the rules on expiry dates and VAT, and seven steps to have vouchers on sale this week. It is written for UK shops, cafés, restaurants, salons and local services.

Why sell gift vouchers online?

Selling gift vouchers online turns your website into a till that never closes. People buy vouchers as last-minute gifts, as thank-yous and as staff rewards, and an online voucher can be bought and delivered in minutes. The money arrives when the voucher is sold, and the customer usually comes back later to spend it.

The market is big and growing. The GCVA’s H1 2026 sales report puts the UK gift card market at an estimated £10.7 billion a year, its first estimate of the whole market. It found that 24% of UK adults bought or received a gift card in the past year.

Gift card sales among the GCVA’s reporting members rose 19% in the first half of 2026, while UK retail grew by 1 to 4% over the same period, according to the report. Three quarters of that growth came from business-to-business sales, such as cards bought as staff rewards, but sales to consumers grew too.

Are e-gift vouchers worth it?

Yes. Digital gift cards now make up 70% of sales among the issuers the GCVA tracks, and they grew 27% in the first half of 2026, while physical cards were almost flat. In sales to consumers, digital cards made up 46% of value, up from 41% a year earlier.

Digital cards also carry more money. The GCVA reports a median load of £59 on digital cards against £47 on physical cards, and a median redemption value of £46. Cards redeemed online had a redemption value just over 50% higher than cards redeemed in store.

Physical vouchers still matter, especially at Christmas. The GCVA notes that physical cards typically do well in the run-up to Christmas, so a printed voucher in a nice card is worth keeping at the till alongside your e-gift vouchers.

How do you sell gift vouchers online?

There are three main ways to sell gift vouchers online: add them to a WooCommerce website, switch on Shopify’s built-in gift cards, or use the voucher feature of a booking or till system you already pay for. Each one emails the buyer a voucher with a code, and each one needs a way to check and record that code when the voucher is spent.

On a WooCommerce website

If your site runs on WordPress with WooCommerce, the official Gift Cards for WooCommerce extension costs £60 for a one-year plan, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It sells digital gift cards that customers spend online, in fixed amounts or a choice of amounts, with a personal message, a delivery date and more than one recipient.

Gift Cards for WooCommerce is built for cards spent online. WooCommerce says it does not issue physical cards or printable vouchers, and points to its PDF Product Vouchers extension for those. It does let you search gift cards by code and see each card’s transaction log, which helps if you take vouchers in person.

There are free plugins too. PW WooCommerce Gift Cards is listed on WordPress.org with more than 20,000 active installations and was last updated on 30 October 2026. Check what the free version includes before you rely on it for in-store use.

On Shopify

Shopify gift cards are built into the platform: Shopify’s help page says you can activate gift cards on your store to sell gift card products. Physical gift cards that work with Shopify POS can be ordered from the Shopify Hardware Store in supported countries. If you are choosing between the two platforms, our guide to Shopify vs WooCommerce compares UK prices and fees.

Through your booking or till system

Many salons, restaurants and activity businesses already pay for a booking system or till. Check whether yours sells vouchers before you add another tool, because a voucher that works in the same system as your bookings is easier for staff to redeem. Then link to it from your website, so people find it.

Which gift vouchers sell best?

Before you sell gift vouchers online, decide between money vouchers and named experiences. A named experience often feels more like a present, while a money voucher suits any taste, so most businesses do well offering both. Some examples by trade:

• Cafés and tearooms: afternoon tea or brunch for two, plus money vouchers.
• Restaurants and pubs: a set menu or Sunday lunch for two, and vouchers in £25 steps.
• Salons, barbers and spas: named treatments, such as a cut and finish or a facial, and money vouchers for regulars.
• Shops: money vouchers in set amounts, so the person can choose their own gift.
• Gyms, studios and activity businesses: a class pack or a taster session.
• Local services: a car valet, a deep clean or an hour of a job people tend to put off.

What should your gift voucher terms say?

Your gift voucher terms should say what the voucher is worth, what it can be spent on, where it can be used, when it expires, what happens to any balance, and what happens if it is lost. Show them on the product page before payment and on the voucher itself.

Which? says the issuer should include any important terms at the point of purchase, and that the buyer is bound by the terms known when they bought, even after giving the voucher away. Hidden terms are harder to rely on: Which? suggests terms that were not brought to the buyer’s attention may be challenged as unfair.

Keep the terms short and in plain English:

1. The value, or the experience it covers, such as afternoon tea for two.
2. Where it can be used: online, in person, or both.
3. The expiry date, written as a date rather than a period where you can.
4. Whether a balance carries over if it is not spent in one go.
5. What happens if a voucher is lost, and whether you can reissue it.
6. How to book, if it is for a service or a table.
7. Your business name and how to contact you.

Can gift vouchers expire in the UK?

Yes. According to Which?, expiry dates are allowed as long as the person buying the voucher was made aware of them at the time of purchase. So put the expiry date on the product page, in the checkout, in the confirmation email and on the voucher.

How long you allow is your choice. Our advice is at least 12 months, and longer for experiences that people need to book ahead, such as a spa day or a dinner for two. A generous expiry date costs you little and avoids unhappy customers who find their present has run out.

Do you charge VAT on gift vouchers?

If you are VAT registered, VAT on vouchers depends on the type of voucher. HMRC’s information sheet on face value vouchers explains that, from 1 January 2019, a single-purpose voucher is one where the place of supply and the VAT treatment are known when it is issued.

For a single-purpose voucher, VAT is accounted for when the voucher is sold, because everything needed to tax it is known then. For a multi-purpose voucher, the VAT is accounted for when the voucher is spent, on the goods or services it pays for. A voucher that can be spent on things with different VAT rates is usually multi-purpose.

If you are not VAT registered, this does not apply to you. If you are, check how your vouchers are set up with your accountant before you start, because the till or website needs to record them the right way.

How to sell gift vouchers online in 7 steps

These seven steps take most small businesses from nothing to vouchers on sale in a week:

1. Decide what to sell. Money vouchers in set amounts, such as £25, £50 and £100, or named experiences, such as a cut and blow dry or Sunday lunch for two.
2. Write your terms. Value, where it can be used, expiry, balances and lost vouchers, as in the list above.
3. Pick how to sell. Your website, with WooCommerce or Shopify, or the booking or till system you already use.
4. Design the voucher. Your logo, the value, the code, the expiry date and how to spend it, in an email that looks good enough to forward as a present.
5. Plan redemption. Decide how staff check a code, take off the amount spent and record any balance, online and in person.
6. Put it everywhere. A Gift vouchers link in your website menu, on your Christmas page, in your social bios and at the till.
7. Track it. Keep a running total of vouchers sold and spent. Every unspent voucher is a sale you still have to deliver.

How do you redeem e-gift vouchers in person?

If you sell gift vouchers online, customers will also bring them to your shop, salon or café, so staff need a quick way to check them. Decide the routine before you start: the customer shows the code on their phone, staff look it up, take off what was spent and note any balance.

With Gift Cards for WooCommerce, staff can search for a card by its code and see its transaction log. Whatever tool you use, try the routine once with a test voucher before your first busy weekend, so nobody is working it out with a queue behind them.

How do you promote your gift vouchers?

Put a Gift vouchers link in your main menu and on your homepage, so nobody has to hunt for it. Add vouchers to your Christmas page, mention them in emails to past customers, and pin a post about your e-gift vouchers to the top of your social profiles from late November.

On Google, an offer post or update on your Business Profile can point straight to your voucher page. Our guide to Google Business Profile posts shows how to post and schedule them. For the busy weeks ahead, our list of Christmas marketing ideas for small businesses covers the key 2026 dates, including the last posting dates, after which e-gift vouchers are often the only present that can still arrive in time.

If you run a voucher deal, such as a free £10 voucher when someone buys £50, make sure the offer is genuine and the terms are clear. Our guide to Black Friday rules in the UK explains what counts as a misleading offer.

Common mistakes when you sell gift vouchers online

• Hiding the vouchers. If the only link is in the footer, few people will find it.
• No expiry date at checkout. An expiry date the buyer never saw is harder to rely on later.
• No plan for redemption. Staff are unsure what to do when a customer shows a code.
• Losing track of balances. Vouchers spent in more than one go need the balance recorded each time.
• A voucher that does not feel like a present. A plain-text email with a code is hard to give. Make it look good enough to forward.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell gift vouchers on my website?

Yes. On a WooCommerce website you can add the official Gift Cards extension, which costs £60 a year, or a free plugin. Shopify gift cards are built into the platform. Either way, the buyer pays online and receives a voucher with a code by email.

How much does it cost to sell gift vouchers online?

It depends on your platform. Gift Cards for WooCommerce costs £60 for a one-year plan, and free plugins such as PW WooCommerce Gift Cards are available. Shopify gift cards are built into the platform. You also pay your normal card processing fees on each sale.

Can gift vouchers expire in the UK?

Yes. Which? says expiry dates are allowed as long as the buyer was made aware of them when they bought the voucher. Show the expiry date before payment and on the voucher itself, and consider at least 12 months.

Do I charge VAT on a gift voucher?

Only if you are VAT registered, and the timing depends on the voucher. HMRC treats a voucher as single-purpose when the place of supply and VAT treatment are known at issue, so VAT is due when it is sold. Otherwise it is multi-purpose and VAT is due when it is spent.

Should I sell e-gift vouchers or printed vouchers?

Both, if you can. Digital cards make up 70% of sales among the issuers the GCVA tracks and are loaded with more on average, but physical cards typically sell well before Christmas. Sell e-gift vouchers online and keep printed ones at the till.

Can customers spend an online voucher in my shop or café?

Yes, if you set it up. Decide how staff will check a voucher code, take off what was spent and record any balance. Some voucher tools only handle online spending, so check before you choose.

Want gift vouchers on your website?

We build websites and online shops for UK small businesses from £300 a year per site, including hosting, your domain and five pages, with one fixed price in writing before work starts. If you would like to sell gift vouchers online, tell us when you ask for a price. See our online shop service, read our guide to starting an online shop in the UK, or start with a free website check.