Holiday shopping may not be coming to a close quite yet – the Los Angeles Times suggests the popularity of the gift card may keep consumers coming back to stores past the traditional holiday season.<\/p>\n
Citing a report from the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman Sachs, the news source notes gift card spending was up 18 percent this year, up from 14.6 percent last year and 13.1 percent in 2009. This could lead to greater in-store traffic and more purchases through January, economist Michael Niemira claims.<\/p>\n
"Gift cards were already being seen as the likely top gift choice, above clothing, toys and electronics, before the holiday season started," the news source adds. "Demand may have picked up because of a scarcity of must-have items and soft apparel demand this year."<\/p>\n
Many retail merchants prefer gift cards sales over other transactions because customers will frequently spend more than the amount allotted to the card, especially if they have attractive discount offers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Holiday shopping may not be coming to a close quite yet – the Los Angeles Times suggests the popularity of the gift card may keep consumers coming back to stores past the traditional holiday season. Continue reading