Online gift card sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 29% over the next several years, hitting $5.86 billion in 2014, research and advisory firm Javelin Strategy & Research says.

The online channel has become more important for gift card sales, which are continuing to expand, says Beth Robertson, director of payments research at Javelin.

Javelin projects that online gift card sales will rise from $1.60 billion in 2009 to $5.86 billion in 2014 In a consumer survey Javelin conducted in November 2009, it found that 41% of consumers had used a gift card at an online merchant within the prior 12 months, and that, on average, consumers made 1.2 transactions per month with an online gift card.