Gift Cards - The Gift is in the Card

They are a great gift for the person who has every or who is difficult to please. Retailers love them and they are a multi billion dollar industry. Gift cards have exploded onto the scene over the past number of years as a fast and convenient way to give a gift to someone. And most people love getting them since you always know that you will be getting something you really want.

Just how popular have gift cards become? Well numbers found from Statistics Canada showed that in 2003 about one third of all retailers were running a gift card program. Three years later that number had increased to around 82% of retailers that sold gift cards in their stores. And the biggest reason could be convenience.

If you have a teen who just got their driver’s license it is not exactly practical to wrap-up a canister of gas as a present and you certainly are not going to give them your credit card. But you can very easily give them a gift card for $100. Or by giving a card that is good for a bus or train ticket you will not have to worry about travel dates since the card can be redeemed for a ticket at any time.

One of the most successful and popular types of gift cards to give someone is for coffee shops. These can be given to family, friends and co-workers and really is the gift that keeps on giving with a little caffeine jolt every morning. Retailers like Star Bucks even lets you purchase another gift card for someone using the credits that are on your own card.

There are even gift card options that are geared specifically for the wealthy clientele. The Four Seasons hotel chain offers cards with denominations of $1,000 up to $5,000. And if that is not enough for you, you can contact the head office and arrange for a whopping $100,000 value gift card. For that amount of money will want to find a great gift card holder to put it in.

While gift cards remain convenient and popular there is a drawback in purchasing them and that is that unlike store merchandise, these cards never go on sale. For the recipient of the card, they can buy sale items and make their redemption money go further. But the person giving the card would not have the to opportunity to buy a higher priced item at a discounted price.

Another thing to consider is the store that the card you are giving is good for. Since a large portion of gift cards go unredeemed you will want to make sure that the person you are giving it to shops at or has a keen interest in that store. The last thing you want is to waste money on buying a card that will never be used.

Still gift cards can make a great present especially for those in your life that can be hard to buy for. And since many retailers issue them you can be sure to find one that’s right for the person on your list.