Business Credit Business Travel Franchising Personal Finance Sales & Selling Technology Women in Business Careers E-Commerce & Internet Finance & Accounting Labor & Employment Management Marketing & Advertising Operations Starting a Business > See All

by Title A-H by Title I-P by Title Q-Z > See All

Business Intelligence Small Business Blog Business Planning E-Commerce & Internet Finance & Accounting Home-Based Business Human Resources & Employment Management & Leadership Marketing & Advertising Operations Sales Technology Women in Business > See All

Hiring & Firing Intellectual Property Internet & Technology Legal Mergers & Acquisitions Money & Fundraising Real Estate/Landlord-Tenant Sales & Marketing Starting a Business Business Guides Forms Kits > See All

Construction Medical Practices Restaurants Retail Trade Manufacturing Real Estate Wholesale Trade > See All

Accounting Advertising & Marketing Computers & Software Financial Services Human Resources Internet & Online Management Small Business > See All

Business Exchange Business Answers Buyer's Guides Franchise Opportunities Glossary Trials & Downloads Partner Resources Podcast Library Quote Center Video Library Web Site Tools > See All

GIFT CARDS FOR CHRISTMAS: Hassle-free gift cards are quickly overtaking gift certificates in the...

By McKinley, By Ed
Publication: US Banker
Date: Sunday, October 1 2000

Annual sales of prepaid gift cards exploded from virtually nil three years ago to upwards of $20 billion today and a projected $32 billion next year, encouraging retailers of every description to scramble this summer to put together programs for the December holidays.

Their customers-pressed for time, bereft of gift ideas, and separated from relatives by distance-are turning to the cards at Christmas and during Hanukah, but they're also buying them for birthdays, weddings, and other events throughout the year. Shoppers can personalize the cards by buying them from store

To read the rest of this article, click here to take a free trial

In addition, make sure to read these premium articles also available with your free trial:

J. Crew covers its bases. (Reader Profile).(interview wirh Paul Fusco...

NEW YORK-BASED CLOTHING AND ACCESsories company J. Crew reached its $800 million annual sales figure this year, through its business stemming from its catalogs, retail ......

Magic's a Downtown Hit. Now He's Got a Card.: The Laker legend...

Magic Johnson is bringing plastic to inner cities with a stored-value Visa from startup Celebrity Cards International. If successful, the card product will divert business ......

Accountability at Issue in Data Security Failings: Enforcing stiffer...

Merchants and data brokers take note: Banks are serious about security, and they're going to legal lengths to prove it. In the wake of The ......

INDUSTRY SALES SHOW RECORD GROWTH IN 2000.(Brief Article)(Statistical...

IRVING, Texas - The promotional products industry posted sales of $17,854,482,234 in 2000, according to the annual industry study conducted for Promotional Products Association International....

West Side Story Isn't Rosy.(Brief Article)

Late last year, the biggest test of stored-value cards in the U.S.- and just the second in an open environment-was aborted. Granted, the trial on ......

It's a long road ahead for pre-paid cards. (debit cards)

Pre-paid or stored-value debit cards are expected to gain wider popularity, as more banks and electronic funds transfer networks introduce the product to the market....

Landing the Unbanked With Lure Aiming to Build Credit: The unbanked...

With prepaid cards, banks are planning a major push this year into the notoriously fickle unbanked market. If they play it right, it may prove ......

October declared Right-Hand Ring Month.(SHORT cuts)

De Beers' Diamond Promotion Service in the United States has declared October as Diamond Right Hand Ring Month. In 2005, the DTC will spend roughly ......

Turnkey Vendors Ease Entry Into New Markets.(Automated teller...

The fact that check cashing, remittances and prepaid cards have proved profitable for alternative providers has banks thinking they should be able to compete, too....

Sweet profits: the liqueur category has seen plenty of changes over...

As recently as the turn of the millennium, cordial shelves in many retail shops were a bit dusty except for the major well-known brands; today, ......

T T T

Digg It

del.icio.us

Related Resources

Free AllBusiness Articles

How Do I Develop Gift Cards and Gift Certificates?

A good gift card is an extension of your brand.

It's Market Time

The 2005 holiday season is over, and independent retailers are tallying their fourth quarter results. Manufacturers, vendors, and trade show producers are ready to open their doors for 2006 buying. How many buyers plan to show up at the winter trade markets? Will they change their buying patterns? How much ......

Gift card usage increases

According to results from Standard Register's National Consumer Retailer Survey of Plastic Card Usage, 45 percent of adults have used prepaid gift cards, an increase of 34 percent over last year's survey. The holiday season is the number-one gift card giving occasion, with birthdays a close second. Consumers spent an ......

National survey reveals gift card growth

HEADNOTE INDUSTRY NEWS DAYTON, OH-Nearly one-half of U.S. consumers used a gift card during the past year according to results released from Standard Register's third National Consumer and Retailer Survey of Plastic Card Usage. Research indicates that 45% of adults have used gift cards, an increase of 34% over last ......

Shopper Survey: Retail Upturn Expected in February

COLUMBUS, Ohio - High-end retail stores did the best this Christmas, and consumer spending is expected to remain weak through January, according to a shopper survey conducted by the Retail Forward consulting firm here.

Survey Finds Popularity of Gift Cards Growing

A survey of marketing executives at 30 of the nation's leading retailers indicates a growing success and popularity of gift cards...

Retailers see strong start to holiday-shopping season

SYRACUSE - The 2006 holiday retail season got off to a strong start on its opening weekend both locally and nationally.

Video

Selling Online Gift Certificates

Host Hattie Bryant of Small Business School interviews Jennifer, a worker at Gadabout Salon & Day Spa in Tucson, Arizona.

Creating a Successful Company with Good Employee Benefits

Host Hattie Bryant of Small Business School interviews Bart Mahan of Buggies Unlimited, a Richmond, Kentucky-based company that sells gear ......

All Videos

Business Guides

Buyer's Guide - Desktop PCs

Filled with useful advice and handy rules of thumb for buying the right kinds of business desktop PCs at fair ......

All Guides

Blogs

Small Retailers Stand to Gain from Store Gift Cards

Small retailers probably are the biggest marketplace, right now, for the gift card market, says Brenda Gilpatrick, president of Your Fantastic Plastic, a company that helps retailers launch gift-card programs. "If I were a small retailer wanting to launch a program," Gilpatrick says, "I would start with my own acquirer ......

Yawn! Men Dawdling Over Christmas Shopping

What else is new?

Does Your Teenager Need a Credit Card?

One of the trends gaining in popularity is the idea of a prepaid credit card for teenagers. And, while teaching your kids about personal finance and financial planning is important, do you really need to do it with a credit card? It may not hurt, but it may not ......

Bank Gift Cards: Holiday God-Send or Holiday Nightmare?

Gone are the days when it was considered lazy or tacky to give gift cards as presents. Now they are accepted, even encouraged. Why? Because they allow the recipient to get exactly what he or she wants. No more agonizing over whether or not something is "just right" or whether ......

All Bloggers