Retailers offering new perks to encourage gift card giving
What’s on your Christmas wish list? If the National Retail Federation is right, gift cards are probably holding a respectable place toward the top of the list. These little pieces of plastic are requested most this time of year, and they have the added perk of allowing people to get what they want instead of money wasted on presents that sucks. This trend may give retailers a hand this year, as they’ll be able to keep their inventories down.
If shoppers are slow with the cash, retailers won’t have to resort to just slashing prices as they had to last year to move product out the door. When the stuff on the shelves is cheap, gift cards aren’t as attractive because there’s a deal to be had! This year, if inventories are kept down, gift cards are more likely to move.
Ralph Rolen, general manager of Stored Value Solutions (which processes gift cards for retailers), told USA Today, “If you have a choice between buying something at 70% off or a gift card, you’re more likely to give something at 70% off.”
Last year, gift card sales fell almost 6% to $24.9 billion, the NRF says, making it the first year gift card sales fell since tracking began in 2002. Fees and restrictions made them a bit less popular, as did the bankruptcies of several major retailers. Though it’s unlikely that we’ll see the same problems again this year, consumers still have their doubts.
