Examining The Growing Popularity Of Gift Cards

Gift cards aren’t going anywhere. That is, of course, except into the hands of many lucky Canadians all over the country each and every day! Gift cards have long been, and continue to be, top-choice gifts for loved ones for all occasions. For those who may think that they are too generic or impersonal, studies have shown that such isn’t exactly the case. By contrast, many love gift cards because they offer recipients exactly what they want.

With the freedom to buy your own gift, you can assure yourself that you’re not getting the wrong size, the wrong colour or just simply something you don’t like at all. “A $20-30 gift card is a heck of a lot better than a pair of socks; especially when grandma bought you those pinks ones with the little white puppy faces on them,” reads ECheckCasinos.ca. The website admits that it’s not even sure how the popularity of gift cards began. But it has a guess.

“Our best guess is that all of the grandmothers of the world must have bought up all of the socks and other lousy gifts, and as they were leaving the store empty-handed they spotted that Visa card logo while passing the cashier,” jokes the site, “Once they found out that they could set the gift card for any amount they wanted and knock out their entire holiday shopping in about four and a half minutes, a new phenomenon was born.”

With this anecdote, ECheckCasinos.ca points out a pretty important point about why shoppers love gift cards so much. It certainly helps for the shopping experience to be a whole lot easier. Whenever a person is unsure of what to buy a loved one as a gift, the gift card becomes the perfect solution. Gift cards are also excellent go-to gifts for those who hate shopping. Not everyone enjoys popping their heads into each and every store in search for the ideal items.

Convenience plays a major role in why gift cards continue to grow in popularity. According to Rob Daniel, the managing director at Maritz, “the flexibility and convenience associated with gift cards continues to make them an evermore popular gift to give and receive.” A Maritz survey conducted in 2010 found that Canadians had increased their love for gift cards by 10 percent that year compared to two years prior.

According to CBC News, who Daniel spoke to, gift cards had overtaken toys, alcohol, electronics and games as top Christmas gifts in 2010. The report also reveals that gift cards are especially popular with women. “Twice as many women said they wanted gift cards than jewelry, according to the survey,” says CBC News, noting that the survey was based on online interviews with 1,500 Canadians.

Restaurants haven’t necessarily cornered the market on gift cards. But they are certainly doing an excellent job of selling them. According to ECheckCasinos.ca, “restaurants began this trend about fifteen years ago and advertised the heck out of it saying things like, ‘Who doesn’t love a free meal?’ or, ‘Let your loved ones decide what to buy.’” Can gift cards work to help your business? We’re sure that they can!

“According to annual statistics, gift card purchases are not going anywhere in the near future,” says ECheckCasinos.ca. At Canadian POS Corporation, we offer our clients the ability to sell gift cards in their own stores. They continue to get more and more popular with each passing year. So isn’t it time you cash in on the trend? To order your gift cards, call Canadian POS Corporation at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.