Nov 23, 2007

Gift cards growing in popularityBy David FlaumCommercialAppeal.com

Got an idea what will be the most popular holiday gift? Computer? iPod? Elmo doll? Jewels? Bicycle?

Try a gift card.

For the fourth straight year, gift cards are expected to be the top gift purchase, with 69 percent of consumers surveyed by Deloitte Services USA planning to buy them. Consumer Reports puts the figure at about 60 percent.

The number per shopper will be up, too: an average of 5.5 cards, compared with the 4.6 cards givers planned to buy last year, Deloitte said.

That helps shoppers and merchants, experts said.

“The whole gift card process extends the holiday season,” said David Herskovits, consumer business partner with Deloitte Services.

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