For Many, It’s Better to Give --and Receive--Certificates
Allison Gomez knows precisely the kind of silver bracelet, flannel PJs and flared khaki pants she wants for Christmas. But a word to the wise, Mom. Don’t bother.
Allison, 14, can just imagine. The colors would be a mile off, the sizes wrong, the style, well, “Sooo not cute.”
Instead, she hopes to find under her Christmas tree the same thing as last year: gift certificates.
Yes, those slips of paper that instantly reveal to the world exactly how much you spent are surging to new heights of popularity. Driven by the demands of a society that seems to leave less and less time for choosing thoughtful individual presents, gift certificates are losing their stigma as cold or even crass forms of gift-giving.
The change is also prompted by outspoken teenagers like Allison who are connecting with ever faster fluctuations in teen styles and are unafraid to tell parents that their taste is awful.
Judy Gomez, Allison’s mother, knows her three daughters believe she is unable to keep pace with their aesthetics. “They don’t trust me,” said Gomez, 46, a Monrovia nutritionist. “Allison thinks I’m an old fuddy-duddy mom. But I really have pretty darn good judgment; I see what girls are wearing.”
The trend is having an impact on retail business. While it’s a fraction of retail sales, the share is growing fast. This year, according to surveys, about 40% of shoppers expect to give gift certificates. Macy’s West has already seen a 15% increase in gift certificate sales. At Target, the leap is 50%, said spokeswoman Patty Morris, even though the chain doesn’t advertise gift certificates.
A number of national chains, including Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Amazon.com, report increases in gift certificate sales this season, but declined to release exact numbers.
Mallwide gift certificates are at an all-time high, said John Konarski, senior vice president of the International Council of Shopping Centers, an industry trade group with more than 40,000 members. Many malls now offer mallwide certificates, the equivalent of “mall money,” so a present can be purchased at any store there.
Experts say the convenience of purchasing gift certificates is unparalleled. At many stores, certificates are available at the cash register, by phone or through the Internet, by which the store can e-mail the recipient that day. Certificates come in standard paper form or plastic debit cards.
The popularity of gift certificates may also relate to shoppers’ awareness that when it comes to presents, they--as well as their loved ones--are often clueless. According to a recent survey by American Express, more than a third of consumers said they agonized over what to get. Nearly half said no matter how early they began holiday shopping, they usually made last-minute runs to stores. More depressing still: 46% said they typically return at least one and as many as 10 holiday gifts every year.
Synthia Farrior, 34, views certificates as a practical solution that diminishes the risk in gift-giving. A San Pedro dietitian, she buys Christmas presents for five sisters as well as 10 nieces and nephews. Of the 15 family presents that she plans to give, nine will be gift certificates.
“Once I get off work, I don’t have a lot of time for walking around the mall,” she said.
Farrior began giving certificates two years ago, after receiving one at work. Pleased that she could select exactly what she wanted, she decided to pass the opportunity on to family members. This year, she threaded her way among roving shoppers and headed straight to checkout counters and purchased certificates. “It cuts my shopping time in half,” she said.
Certificates Linked to U.S. Affluence
The phenomenon of gift certificates reflects a period of unparalleled affluence, experts say. The result: Spending is up and store shelves are stocked with a mind-boggling variety of wares.
The rise in gift certificates and debit cards follows the increase in holiday spending, said David Cooperstein, director of consumer e-commerce research at Forrester, a Boston-based market research firm. “People are giving more gifts this year; retail spending is going up online and offline.”
Others say gift certificates reflect a society in which people already have much of what they want and need. In fact, the very nature of the holidays has changed. Instead of waiting until the holidays to buy items needed by family members, such purchases are now made throughout the year, said Irwin Cohen, global managing director of consumer business practice at Deloitte & Touche, which with the National Retail Federation conducted a survey of shoppers.
The sheer quantity of merchandise options can prove daunting to some, particularly those shopping for teenagers. A year ago, Konarski, with the International Council of Shopping Centers, would have named six stores catering to teenagers. Today, he’d ask which kind of fashion was sought: grunge, preppy or gothic. “People are afraid to buy for teens,” he said. “It’s so fragmented. The teen market has been segmented; different stores appeal to different groups.”
Dan Horne, chairman of Providence College’s marketing department, believes a decline of formality in society has helped pave the way for gift certificates. “Blame it on the baby boomers,” said Horne, who is also a director of research for 1-800-Gift Certificate. “It used to be that gift certificates were an act of desperation; now you see people thinking of this as a preferred alternative.”
Not everyone believes the trend is positive. Los Angeles psychiatrist Walter Jacobson points out that a similar phenomenon occurred with greeting cards, which went from being individualized and handmade to being fully crafted with ready-made sentiments.
“Our society is becoming so mechanized, so fast, we forget about the really important things, which are our connections to one another,” Jacobson said. “Gift certificates are essentially greeting cards with cash redemption.”
For most retailers, December is the biggest month of gift certificate sales, with the numbers growing as the holidays grow closer. At Sears, for instance, more than half of all gift certificate purchases occur in December, said spokeswoman Peggy Palter.
For the retailer, gift certificates and debit cards are beneficial, experts say. The store receives money up front for merchandise that may not be selected until weeks or even months later. (Most gift certificates are redeemed one to three months after they are issued.) Certificates usually force recipients to visit either a store or a Web site, where retailers hope people will spend even more than the face value of the present. The certificates also reduce the amount of returned merchandise.
That works for Allison Gomez. Allison and her two sisters, 12-year-old Jillian and 17-year-old Kristin, started working on their Christmas lists in October. It’s a holiday that the family takes seriously. On Thanksgiving, Judy and her husband, Kip, a landscape contractor, brought out the family’s 12 boxes of Christmas decorations, distributing them throughout their Craftsman-style home.
On Christmas Day, each girl gets about 20 presents. Some are inexpensive, like a box of cereal that Judy Gomez believes contains too much sugar for everyday fare. Others are practical, like an ankle brace. Fortunately for Allison, her mother is a big fan of gift certificates.
Each daughter will get four or five gift certificates. The smallest is the family’s traditional stocking stuffer, a $5 certificate to McDonald’s. The two youngest daughters will also get certificates for manicures.
The other gift certificates will be from clothing stores named on the girls’ Christmas lists so, the day after the holiday, they can go to the mall with their friends--another tradition. Allison, who goes to the mall each week, likes to hit the after-Christmas sales to stretch her holiday money.
“It’s youth culture,” said Judy Gomez, laughing. “Some people will say they do gift certificates because they don’t have time, but I come up with gift certificates because I want to have a gift that is so appropriate.”
Gift certificates won’t work for everything on Allison’s list, like her request for a second piercing in her ear. It’s the fourth consecutive year she has asked.
Forget it, Allison. It’s not happening.
