Gift cards allow you to give a thoughtful and socially acceptable gift, without having to worry about getting it wrong, mismatching, or doubling up. In the United States alone, they rank as the second most popular gift to give, according to recent studies, and the gift most valued by women recipients. Men, also becoming increasingly harder to please, rank gift cards as the third most popular gift on their wish list. Gift cards come in a huge variety of colors and styles, and may be personalized to the recipient with the engraving of their name or a customized message, or simply remain anonymous.
First popularized in 1916 by a glove manufacturer, gift cards were soon internationally recognized as an intuitive gift shopping device, inestimably useful to any bewildered holiday or special occasion shopper. They allowed the giver to forget about size, color, and style—giving these choices back to the receiver of the gift—, and instead concentrate on the generals like how much to spend or what kind of gift to give, while still remaining a more considerate and festive option than hard cash in a gift box.
Cards are identified by either a specific number or code, but don’t usually contain a specific name. This means their use is not restricted to just one consumer, and they may be passed around indefinitely. Careful though—if your gift card is lost, anyone may be able to pick it up off the ground and cash it in. Gift cards usually have a magnetic strip or barcode which can be read or written on by a machine at the store from which it was purchased. Many times the buyer is allowed to choose how much value he would like to place on the card. This is entered at the time of purchase, although the value is often stored in the store’s database, not on the card itself.
Although most gift cards are limited to be redeemed at only the store or chain from which they were purchased, some—known as either “open loop,” or “hybrid closed loop” cards—may be issued to hold value in a number of different kinds of establishments, whether within a certain area, in a specific mall, or even amongst different allied business institutions. These often hold more problems for the consumer in the form of additional purchase fees and card value decay, but if used correctly can be a fun way to give the recipient even more variety and choice in his or her gift.
Gift cards, though they have been criticized for eliminating much of the thought and personal touch from the gift equation, continue to climb in popularity among both gift givers and recipients. Some studies have shown a gift card disuse rate of only 10 percent, meaning that 90 percent of gift card recipients have enjoyed their gift and put it to good use in some way. Meanwhile, the gift card system continues to expand and personalize its options, increasingly allowing for either greater customization for the buyer, or greater flexibility for the recipient, depending on your specific tastes.
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