Today, I'm headed off to the post office to mail out the 4A holiday cards. I'm glad that I'm able to do this on a weekday, when most folks are at the office. There is always a feeling of accomplishment when this particular job is done. Ordered, stuffed, licked and addressed.
Now all I have to do is my own cards. Over the years, for a variety of reasons, the number of cards that I send out have dwindled. I still send some cards to my friends in California, but let's face it, we've lived here for 30 years; and, I've only been back to California a handful of times.
I've ordered my gifts, so I'm just waiting for them to arrive. After they do, at some point I'll have to bag or box them and wrap (or not) each gift. The Washington Post had a great article in the paper yesterday about gift giving. The journalist was writing that she wasn't very good at finding the right gift for each person. And, she felt no guilt in giving either cash or gift cards. I don't like giving cash, it somehow doesn't feel right to me. But, I have given gift cards occasionally to a family member, so that they can do their own thing in deciding what they want.
Statistically, on average 100 Billion (yes with a B) is spent on gift cards each year. Ninety three percent of people either give or receive a gift card. And there is an average of $213.00 spent on purchasing these cards. In 2015, there was approximately $100 Billion dollars in unused gift card. That number makes me wonder why people don't use their cards. It's freebie money and unless the card is for a specialty store, such as a candle store, and you don't use candles, well then how will you use that card? Buy candles for the heck of it? Buy candles to give away to friends who use and love candles?
If the card is for let's say, Amazon or another similar type of retailer, then I don't know why people wouldn't use their cards. When I retired, I was given a few cards, and I used every one. I received a gift card to Toy-R-Us, a children's clothing store and best of all for me - Ebay money! I'm happy to report that all of the cards were used and used timely. The "bucks" for Ebay gave me the ability to buy anything I wanted and feel no guilt in doing so.
On the other hand, when I do go into a store, I quickly get caught up in let's say a buying frenzy, particularly at this time of year. I add this and that to my cart and am a little stunned at the total. Once at home, with receipt in hand, I look at the items I bought, and with a cooler head, realize that I should take "x" or "y" back to the store. I'm doing that today. I bought several gifts last week and now I'm second guessing my purchases. As long as I have the receipt, returning won't be an issue.
Interesting tidbit: Starbucks sold 1,700 gift cards per minute in 2015. Now, I don't happen to like the coffee at Starbucks, but I know millions of people who do. Amazon had 18,000 monthly searches and only bested by 1Tunes at 22,200 searches.
The majority of people that buy gift cards are: budget tamers, card enthusiasts, husbands (who buy the way put an average of over $400 on the card), convenience shoppers and last resort shoppers. Yes, the cards are easy and are genuinely well received. Just remember the recipient's tastes before buying just any old gift card.
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