BRICK, NJ  FEBRUARY 05, 2017  Sales of Panera Bread gift cards are up over 300% on secondary gift card markets in 2016, according to a new report from CardCash.com. That follows a general trend during which restaurant cards as a category have become by far the most popular cards purchased on the secondary gift card market.

CardCash has recently released their end of year summary on their blog, cardcash.com/blog. “Our data has often been a leading indicator for successes and failures in the retail market,” said Steven Weldler CardCash’s VP of Marketing, “there is a large amount of valuable insight in the summary we have just released.”

The summary goes through different highlights of 2016 including many of CardCash’s top selling gift cards in different categories. There are some fascinating insights into the internal workings of the nation’s top gift card exchange and their customer’s preferred shopping habits. Readers can get information about the most resold gift cards and the top categories that interest consumers. This year’s top seller is TJ Maxx, a brand that has seen a surge in popularity.

Average card values by merchant is another area where readers will glean interesting information. The average card value for a Kohl’s gift card is $73 however Nordstrom gift cards were a whopping $254 average value.

Over 60% of gift cards sold in 2016 have been instantly emailed to the customer. The data further confirms the consistent move towards digital seen in the gift card industry over the last few years. Customers are saving a lot of money too. The average order value for for CardCash customers is reported at $180.59, with average savings of $24.35!

The full data can be viewed on the CardCash blog at https://www.cardcash.com/blog/where-americans-ate-shopped-and-played-at-a-discount-in-2016/

What is CardCash? CardCash buys and sells gift cards at a discount. Instead of allowing America’s gift cards to remain in sock drawers, Elliot Bohm and Marc Ackerman set out in 2009 to create a solution. CardCash’s gift card exchange offers buyers, discounted gift cards and sellers, instant payout via paypal, check or various gift cards trade ins. Some of their gift card partners include CVS, Bed Bath and Beyond, Dell, eBay, Hotels.com, Sears, Kmart, Toys R Us and more.