It always amazed me how much money we spend on the holidays, sure that gift card has thought or meaning behind it, but how many do you have lying around your home? I had a stack of gift cards from years of collecting them, and the amount of money they had shocked me. Several even started having money removed for inactivity, well played, which is exactly what I’m going to get into.
Gift cards are genius pieces of marketing. You receive a potential customer’s money before even having a sale. No expense has been had by the company, with the exception of your physical gift card.
Gift cards are also advertisements, reminding their owners of the brand every time they see it. They also drive in more people, as well as encouraging them to spend money. If I have a gift card to one restaurant, I may use it to only cover what is left on the card and spend cash on the remainder.
As for my final opinion on gift cards, I’ll gladly take them, just consider cold hard cash instead. =)
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