By George Anderson
Retailers will find that their business fate this holiday season is all in the cards, not the Tarot variety, but gift cards.
According to Deloitte & Touche, gift cards will be the number one gift this holiday season, with 67 percent of consumers giving an average of 4.9 cards.
Pat Conroy, vice chairman and national managing principal for Deloitte's Consumer Business industry practice indicated that retailers were stepping up marketing efforts for their gift cards while looking to make it easier for consumers to buy and redeem them.
"Look for retailers to offer innovative promotional campaigns for gift cards this year, because these cards have become such a favorite with shoppers," he said. "Online redemptions, co-branding and personalization of cards are some of the features that successful retailers are initiating this year," he added.
The growing use of gift cards has increased the importance of the post-holiday period when consumers begin to redeem them. Many, reports Deloitte, never redeem them. According to the firm's Holiday Mood Survey, half of respondents have unredeemed cards and some have cards that have gone unredeemed for five or more years.
Another study, this one conducted by Stored Value Systems, finds that young consumers between the ages of 5 and 14 are often the recipients of gift cards and they are likely to redeem them and quickly.
According to the study's findings, 80 percent of children have received gift cards from their parents or someone else. Seven in 10 who receive gift cards redeem them within a month.
Moderator's Comment: How have gift cards changed retailing during the holidays? What strategies/tactics can retailers use to try and build demand for their gift cards? - George Anderson - Moderator