Why is the gift card/certificate industry growing so rapidly?
Gift certificates have long been a thriving part of many successful business, but the advent of gift cards, the increasing customer-demand for convenience, and the driving force of the Internet has made gift cards the number one gift given in the US. According to a study conducted by Tower Group, 83% of Americans use gift cards, 61% of gift card users spend more than the value of the card, and 54% make more than one visit to the merchant to use the value on their card. Also, according to an NRF survey, conducted by BIGresearch the average American spent $164.81 on gift cards during the 2006 holidays. Starbucks, a leading merchant in embracing the benefits of gift cards, reported that gift cards were 12% of their tender for 2006, and Books-a-Million reported a net increase in income of $1.5 Million from gift card breakage. As thousands of merchants are realizing the benefits of gift cards, more and more service firms are offering gift cards, and more gift card solutions are being develo
