If, as I recounted last week, Halloween is the perfect 21st century holiday, gift cards represent the perfect 21st century gift. In an age when gift givers are time-starved and gift recipients continually hone their personal preferences from a variety of digital channels, what better gift than “the gift of choice”? A gift card allows the recipient to make the most personalized choice for them, uncolored by the giver’s point of view. And for those same time-starved gift givers, what could be better than a digital gift card, which should require the least amount of time and effort to procure.
“Should” is the operative word here, because as it turns out, procuring a gift card on-line can prove to be a complicated experience. For three of the past four years, my company, RSR Research, has conducted a comprehensive evaluation gift cards from 100 top retailers and restaurants.
