So Much Plastic, So Little Time

Jenn Abelson reports for the Boston Globe on one college freshman's life with gift cards - having received seven cards for Christmas and needing a second wallet to hold them all. She quotes Brian Riley, an analyst with Tower Group, who says that "merchants love gift cards because they help cut back on costly returns and exchanges, and because about 55 percent of people redeeming a gift card wind up spending more than the gift card value." Abelson's article includes a link to a good graphic showing the growth in gift card sales and unredeemed value over the last few years.