Survey: Bath and Body best U.S. gift card

London Research released Friday by the Global Prepaid Exchange reported that Bath and Body Works is Americans’ first choice in gift cards, according to the Gift Card Performance Index.

Based on a representative sample of more than 2,300 American adults, the survey assessed levels of performance for gift cards received this past holiday season.

Bath and Body Works claimed the top spot, narrowly edging out Red Lobster Restaurants and iTunes. All these favorites had very high levels of satisfaction and were the cards that recipients would most recommend to others. Factors such as retailer preferences and service levels were directly related to which cards consumers chose as their favorites.

In other categories, Nordstrom was ranked the best department store gift card. Walgreens ranked No. 8 among the Top 10 gift cards, and the home-improvement category was the highest ranked across the board with both Lowes and Home Depot breaking into the Top 10 of the 75 retailers evaluated.