A gift card is a restricted monetary equivalent or scrip that is issued by retailers or banks to be used as an alternative to a non-monetary gift. Highly popular, they rank as the second-most given gift by consumers in the United States (2006) and the most-wanted gift by women, and the third-most wanted by males. Gift cards have become increasingly popular as they relieve the donor of selecting a specific gift. In Canada, $1.8 billion were spent on gift cards and in the UK, it is estimated to reach 3 billion (GBP) for 2009 whereas in the United States, about $80 billion were paid for gift cards in 2006. The recipient of the gift card can use it at his or her discretion within the restrictions set by the issuing agency.
Although gift cards have been around since the 1900s, the first mention of a "Gift Card" is on December 5, 1916 for gloves at Hampton's quality store in The Eugene Daily Guard, number 144, based in Eugene, Oregon.
"A Gift Shortcut - and a shortcut to certain satisfaction. Give gloves. No worry about style, size, or color - just step into our Centeremi Glove Department and Buy a Christmas Glove Gift Card for the price which you desire to pay for the gloves. Give or send the card to "her" she "cashes it in" for just the kind of gloves she wants. Simple? Try it."
This description is the earliest and most accurate in describing the idea behind Gift Cards as they are used today, contradicting the popular belief that gift certificates were introduced first, with Gift Cards to follow. The first mention of Gift Certificates is on Saturday, December 13, 1917, in The Deseret News, page 3
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_card
See Also: Flowers, Florist, Florists
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