Gift Card Advantages
Gift cards are gaining more popularity with the coming years. Gift cards sales accounted for $19 billion in sales during the 2005 Christmas season and it was $25 billion during the same season on the following year. Their convenience in accessing the popularity contributed to the rip-roaring success of the gift cards. There is a tremendous increase in the business volume traded every year. Gift cards do the magic on the receivers thought which other gifts cannot do. They are considered to be close to the heart and something special. There are lots of advantages with the gift cards and every single individual would like to receive a gift on a special occasion.
Different gift card types
Gift cards eliminate the need of worries on thinking whether the receivers would like the gift or not. A very important point to note is that they completely evade away fake smile. What else a sender can expect? A consumer can choose from three different cards. They are Store-specific gift cards, restaurant gift cards and general purpose gift cards. Store specific cards are sold by specific retailers and usually come with less hidden charges. There can be collaboration between companies where the cards can be bought at either store. Some companies may allow you to have a scrumptious dinner for a card. The company would tip the server the same percentage as you would if you were paying the bill. This kind of advantage is offered by major cards like Visa, MasterCard or American Express. Flexibility is the main benefit of general-purpose card. People can use it to fill up the gas tank, to eat out, buy tickets and most other general activities.
Retailers like gift cards too
Retailers too have lots of benefits in selling gift cards. The sale of gift cards made a giant leap from $1 billion in 1995 to an expected $70 billion in 2006 in the United States. What else can the retailers ask for? Almost 68 percent of all retailers offer some sort of gift cards. Consumers pay less attention to sales and most of them spend more than what they have on the card. Consumers pay most of their amount towards the gift card and have very less value in their card. Since only a little amount of money is left, most consumers will never use the amount and this goes to the retailer.
Retailers can avoid the holiday rush and can prepare themselves for the holiday returns. The cards are usually sent to the recipients before the holidays and it is a natural tendency for the consumers to rush to the mall after spending their holidays. Retailers believe that this results in a major cut-down in returned merchandise.
Gift card exchanging has become the new business for many websites. They allow users to auction or swap unwanted gift cards. This can be beneficial if the recipient does not like any gift in that particular store. Cards can also be exchanged for cash. Gifts cards have proven themselves to be worth on all occasions and it surely fills all the hearts with joy and ecstatic moments.
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