Gift cards suit shoppers
OK procrastinators, take heart.
Yes, you have just four shopping days until Christmas. But if you’re that indecisive – or buying for someone who is hard to please – you might find some needed relief in a gift card.
These days, it’s hard to find a store that doesn’t offer them.
“You can get a gift card for just about anything anymore,” says Ben Hall, manager of the Gas House, part of Don Hall’s Restaurants.
Fort Wayne Outfitters and Bike Depot has been offering gift cards since it opened two years ago.
“It just offers whoever is the recipient of the gift a lot of freedom as to what they can use it for,” said Tim Hall, one of the owners.
Results of a survey the National Retail Federation released last month indicated that gift cards are the most requested holiday item. The survey of nearly 8,700 consumers showed that 55.2 percent of adults would like to receive a gift card this holiday season.
“Though they may not be seen as a personal gift, there aren’t many items out there more practical than a gift card,” Phil Rist, executive vice president, strategic initiatives for BIGresearch, said in a news release. BIGresearch conducted the survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 1 percent, for the Retail Federation.
Coming off a recession, the Retail Federation expects overall retail sales to be milder this year, and gift cards may reflect that.
