Gift Cards Up in Popularity, Says NRF

Washington, D.C., According to the fifth annual National Retail Federation (NRF) Gift Card Survey conducted by BIGresearch, as gift cards become increasingly convenient, more personalized and more sought after, retailers can expect to see an increase in gift card sales this holiday season.

The research found that gift-card sales will total $26.3 billion this holiday season, compared to $24.8 billion in 2006. Additionally, the average consumer will spend more on gift cards than they did last year ($122.59 vs. $116.51 in 2006).

The survey also found that gift cards will be the one of the most popular gifts this holiday season as 56.6% of consumers plan to buy one compared to other top-selling gift items such as clothing, toys and books. And with popularity rising among consumers of all ages, 87.7 % of shoppers said they will purchase two or more gift cards this holiday season.