Gift Cards Always Fit… Or Do They?

Personally, I love to get gift cards for the Holidays and birthdays.  I like shopping for bargains particularly after Christmas  with a gift card. However once again I am falling into the minority because recent reports say even thought gift cards have gotten fancier with new bells and whistles, they may be less popular this holiday season. Only some 43% of us plan to buy gift cards this holiday season. While that is unchanged from last year, it is down sharply from a peak of 69%, set in 2007.  What is even more shocking to me is that even fewer people polled said they want to be on the receiving end. Just 37% said they desired to have one, down from 45% in 2012. So if you are thinking a gift card for someone you may want to check with them first to be sure they would use it and like to have one.

According to the New York Post since 2008, over 44 billion dollars in gift cards has gone unused. Yikes!