According to a recent survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF), gift cards will be the most request gift for the 2010 holiday season. In fact, 57% of survey respondents said they are putting gift cards on their holiday wish list.
The top three categories are:
1. 'Gift cards' - requested by 57% of respondents
2. 'Clothing and clothing accessories' - requested by 48.2% of respondents
3. 'Books, CDs, DVDs, videos or video games' - requested by 47.3% of respondents
Fair To Compare?
When we first saw the results of this survey, we couldn't help but ask ourselves: Is it fair to coampare gift cards to a category like clothing? After all, a gift card could be used to purchase clothing or books. In the end, we don't think it matters much. The point is gift cards are very popular in 2010.
Gift Cards Gaining In Popularity
The survey gave some interesting figues on gift card popularity since 2004. Not only are gift cards popular, they are more popular than ever and have increased in popularity every year since 2004 when 50.2% of respondants said they'd like to recive a gift card as a gift.
Here are the figures by year:
Year Requested Rate Y/Y Change
2004 50.2%
2005 52.3% +4.18%
2006 52.8% +0.96%
2007 53.8% +1.89%
2008 54.9% +2.04%
2009 55.2% +0.55%
2010 57% +3.26%
Not All Gift Cards Are Created Equal
ScripSmart's Gift Card Score®, a patent pending system for evaluating the quality of gift cards, can help you easily identify the best gift cards. Scores range from 0-100, the higher the score, the more consumer friendly the gift card.
For example, the Pottery Barn Gift Card has a Gift Card Score of 91 and the Pottery Barn eGift Card has a Gift Card Score of 96. While both score high, only one is replaceable if lost or stolen and it's the one with the higher Gift Card Score.
Before you buy your next gift card, check the Gift Card Score to ensure you're getting the best gift card!
