People Love Getting Gift Cards
A recent survey completed by the National Retail Federation revealed that a majority of American consumers would prefer to receive a gift card more than any other form of gift this holiday season.
It is estimated that nearly $25 billion will be spent on gift cards and the average card will be $40.
On the whole, 55.2% of adults nationwide would prefer to receive a gift card as opposed to receiving a gift in any other form.
Gift cards are great for businesses too because even small mom-and-pop stores can offer their very own gift cards alongside of the major retailers like target and Wal-Mart.
Restaurants and specialty stores can also get into the act and it costs them very little to produce and manage gift cards. The National Retail Federation survey found that holiday shoppers will purchase on average nearly 4 gift cards each.
The gender breakdown of who is more likely to purchase a gift card is rather interesting. By a rather marked percentage, 63.4% of women prefer to receive gift cards compared to 46.6% for men.
When the demographics are broken down by age 63.4% of adults aged 25 to 34 preferred to receive gift cards.
Gift cards really took off in popularity in the late 1990s. It afforded retailers a unique way to market their goods and services. Gift cards more or less work the very same wade as gift certificates.
Really the only difference between a gift certificate and a gift card is that a gift card very much resembles a credit card. They have magnetic strips on the backs of them that track purchases and the remaining value left on the card.
The first ones are believed to have been issued by Blockbuster and Neiman Marcus.
No doubt adding to the popularity of gift cards is the fact that they can be manufactured with eye-popping graphics and attractive designs that are customized just about any way a retailer wants them.
It will be interesting to see just how much money is spent on gift cards this Christmas season. As stated earlier, the estimate is $25 billion. We’ll stay tuned to see how accurate that number turns out to be and let are valued readers know.
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