Why People Request Gift Cards As Holiday Presents

Welcome to Black Friday! If you’re reading this, we imagine you’re one of the many Canadians who decided that running the risk of joining a stampede was not worth the savings you may enjoy. Then again, you’re likely a business owner who is too busy processing sales to worry about doing any of your own shopping today. Here’s hoping you’re enjoying your most successful Black Friday yet!

We also imagine that, in addition to the many items you have for sale, you’re also anticipating high gift card sales in the weeks to come. Make no mistake about it. The holiday shopping season is when gift card sales are at their highest. And why shouldn’t they be? Gift cards make great gifts! In fact, they top many holiday wish lists. But what are the main reasons people request gift cards as holiday presents?

They give people exactly what they want.

It only makes sense. A gift card guarantees you’ll be happy with your gift. It gives you the opportunity to shop for yourself. That means you won’t have to worry about getting something you already have or something you don’t like. You shouldn’t have to worry about pretending to like a gift when it’s the wrong brand, style, colour or size. A gift card allows you to buy whatever your heart desires from the retailer it represents.

It absolves people from actually asking for gifts.

Interestingly enough, many people are hesitant to tell their loved ones what they want as gifts. Although gift-giving is a major part of every holiday season, there are those who don’t want to ask their family members and friends for anything specific. Some fear the gifts they receive won’t be liked, as mentioned in the point above. A gift card helps to resolve such a fear.

According a CashStar survey of more than 1,100 U.S. consumers, 60 percent said gift cards to their favourite retailers, restaurants and brands are on their wish lists. “Yet, 30 percent said they feel guilty asking for them, citing several reasons: they don’t like asking for anything (62%), it feels the same as asking for cash (61%) and it doesn’t feel personal enough (45%),” notes their website.

People know it makes shopping easy for their loved ones.

Shoppers love buying gift cards because they make shopping easy. There is no need to worry about buying the right product because the gift recipient will be sure to do just that. In many cases, those recipients are aware that asking for gift cards lifts huge weights off their loved ones’ shoulders.

“Gift givers…indicated that being asked for a gift card for the holidays makes shopping easy,” reports CashStar of their survey, “Seventy-eight percent said their reaction would be, ‘Great, that’s an easy gift to buy and check off my list.’ This number jumps to 87 percent among grandparents. Just 9 percent of all respondents said they would feel awkward buying a gift with a clear monetary value associated with it.”

Do you offer gift cards to your customers? Please don’t hesitate to Canadian POS to learn how you can begin taking advantage of gift cards today! Call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.