Comments on: Gift Cards: Still Hot in 2008?

By: Black On Stuff » Blog Archive » How to sell Gift Certificates using Avangate

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 08:03:41 +0000

[...] the end user of the product choose and not spend the money on a gift nobody will use. The concept works not only in classic retail with real cards but also in software sales, where the products are usually delivered [...]

By: Richly Chheuy

Richly Chheuy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:23:27 +0000

@Linda Bustos It may suggest growth at 1.9 percent, but if you read the lede, the last sentence says “this represents the lowest increase in consumer spending since the survey began in 2002.” And during that time after 9/11, we were going through a recession. I wonder if that increase takes in consideration inflation of the dollar from last year, because a 1.9 percent increase could actually be a negative when it’s all said and done.

By: Richly Chheuy

Richly Chheuy — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:18:10 +0000

Gift cards a boon for retailers. After all, consumers will underspend the value (the retailer earns a “profit” on it), or overspend in the store to use up the value of the card (gain an sale). Gift cards are a win-win situation for retailers. And they’re nice gifts because they’re easy and sometimes look pretty cool.

Some places like Costco and other wholesale retail stores offer $50 gift card values for $40, a potential savings for consumers (and more of an incentive for customers to buy gift cards).

As a consumer, I’d caution from spending too much on gift cards because it’s scrip that doesn’t have any value elsewhere other than the store. So it could be a potential waste of money. Better off giving a check, money order, or cash as a gift =).

By: charles

charles — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 03:53:11 +0000

There are some scam gift cards out there. so be careful.

By: Michael Straker

Michael Straker — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:57:57 +0000

It’ll be interesting to see what effect the economic crisis will have. I’d be surprised if overall spending increased, especially in the US.

I’m still not sure why gift card spending is expected to decrease compared to overall spending. That’s a result that would definitley surprise me. My personal experience is that people are really warming up to them.

I look forward to seeing these other studies!

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:48:22 +0000

@Michael Straker,

PS, online flat at 44%

“Although the number of people buying gifts online is expected to remain flat over last year (44.2% in 2008 vs. 44.3% in 2007), shoppers will rely on the Internet more than ever to browse for holiday gifts and research products. According to the survey, the Internet will influence 33.6 percent of holiday purchases, up from 30.2 percent last year and 28.9 percent in 2006. “

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:47:32 +0000

@Michael Straker

Overall spending is expected to increase 1.9% over last year according to the National Retail Federation. http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=590

Again, this is offline & online – and very general statistics. A lot of this research happened before the big bank crisis too – I’m working on compiling a collection of studies on the holiday season, should be up next week, stay tuned

By: Linda Bustos

Linda Bustos — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:44:37 +0000

@Audio Bible,

I would imagine you just use them as a separate SKU on your site. Were you thinking to resell PayPal gift cards as an affiliate?

Linda

By: Carla

Carla — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:32:36 +0000

I never even thought about offering gift card/certificates. Great idea!

By: Michael Straker

Michael Straker — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 18:57:32 +0000

I’m confused… sales of gift cards are expected to drop by 5%? How does that compare to overall Holiday spending?

In view of the economic crisis, I’d expect overall Holiday spending to decrease by more than 5%. Does this mean gift cards are expected to outperform other gifts?

Personally, I love them! (Being a Chicklet-loving single guy and all…)