Gift Card… Tragedy?

I just saw a scary article recently (albeit a little late to the party)… Credit Summit recently reported a survey done in December of 2022 that showed that roughly $21 billion of gift cards have gone unspent!! That’s more than the GDP of many countries! Senegal, Nicaragua, Afghanistan… The list goes on!

The survey goes on to specify that around 60% of Americans have unspent gift cards. Sure, you could be saving them for later, or maybe planning to regift them at some point. But what if you lose them? Or what if a company does something such as Gander Mountain did, by rebranding to Gander Outdoors and not allowing any Gander Mountain gift cards? (And leaving people like my dad high and dry with $200+ in gift cards). Sure, the latter option may be unlikely, but losing a gift card? Who hasn’t done that? I certainly have! Along with 25% of Americans according to the survey!

Now, we all like gift cards. They’re a little more personable than money, and easier to give than finding a specific toy, tool, etc. But always make sure to only buy gift cards that you know will be used! For example, if someone you know goes to Target daily, that’s probably a great gift if you aren’t sure what they want! But if someone goes to Home Depot or Lowe’s once every couple years for home improvement? Maybe not such a great option!

Overall, gift cards can be a great gift! They’re easy to use, the person who receives them can pick out something on their own, and they often have fun designs! But make sure a gift card is necessary and will be used! I will say from experience, as much as I love Home Depot, a kid probably wants $25 much more than they want a Home Depot gift card! And stores love gift cards; if one of theirs isn’t used, is forgotten, or is lost, they just got free money without providing any service! Risk-free to provide gift cards for them!

Maybe next birthday or holiday, you’ll consider going with a nice card with a beautiful message and some boring cash over an exciting gift card!

https://www.worldometers.info/gdp/gdp-by-country/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/check-your-junk-drawer-a-new-survey-shows-americans-have-unspent-gift-cards-totaling-about-21-billion/ar-AA181Xoy?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=ff04ed0faf1a4b50938e25fc77c0a8e5&ei=75