According to a US survey by the National Retail Federation, Gift Cards topped the wish list for the seventh year in a row! What’s more, gift buyers obviously realise how desirable gift cards are at this time of the year with four out of five shoppers saying they will purchase a gift card this Christmas.
On average, consumers will spend US$163.16 on gift cards this Christmas, up 4% from last year’s US$156.86, with total spending expected to reach US$29.8 billion.
According to the survey, 40% of gift cards will come from department stores and 34% from restaurants which were the second choice.  43% of those intending to give a gift card say that letting the recipient choose a gift is the biggest influence on their decision.
Here in Australia, gift givers have the opportunity to give their recipients a far greater choice than simply goods from one store or a meal at one particular restaurant – eftpos gift cards offer the ultimate in choice and flexibility with recipients able to swipe their cards at over 650,000 locations across the country. Eftpos gift cards allow you to surprise and delight even the fussiest of your customers or staff and are also perfect for those receipients who may be in remote locations.
Also according to the above survey, 25% of shoppers feel gift cards are too impersonal. However with corporate gift cards you can have the best of both worlds  –

Here’s a few ways you can make your eftpos gift cards more personal this year

• Fully design your eftpos gift cards with your own logo, branding or special message
• Use a provider who can include the individual recipient’s name on each card
• For staff Christmas gifts, use a different design per functional area reflecting their departments’ effort
• Print and attach cards to a personalised letter
• Include a special, personalised message on the card’s presentation carrier

image from ideas.stitchcraftcreate.co.uk