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PSA: America's Precious Gift Cards Are Going To Waste
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Dec 27, 2012
Modified Dec 27, 2012
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Dec 27, 2012
Modified Dec 27, 2012
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If you refused to heed our advice from last year and dumped a Chipotle gift card in someone's stocking this Christmas, note that it still probably won't be used to cash in on its full Burrito Bowl potential. Coupon site RetailMeNot surveyed their consumers and found that only 55 percent used up the full value of their gift cards.
This correlates with last year's National Retail Federation survey, which found that consumers lost about $41 billion on gift cards from 2005 to 2011. And this year, gift card sales are expected to top $110 billion, so if RetailMeNot's stats are correct, we're looking at a lot of lost cash dropped on Starbucks and Barnes & Noble cards, though we hear you can probably use them to score some drugs.
On the bright side, some retailers have been adding small MetroCard-esque bonuses to their gift card deals, like a $5 freebie card with a big purchase, or a $100 card for $80. But if the card isn't fully redeemed, retailers make more money off them. Plus, they bring customers in in January, when businesses are either quiet or full of customers bitching about return policies and bringing back those hideous sweaters their Nanas bought them.
So, if you're still pretty passive with your gift-giving, do the recipient a favor and tie a nice holiday ribbon around a $20 bill. Or you could just man up and buy a real present.
Tagged
christmas
gift cards
retail
scam
Rebecca Fishbein
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