More gift cards are going unused

Gift cards may be touted as the easiest way to give, but more and more of them are going unused by forgetful, time-strapped consumers.

A survey released by the Consumer Reports National Research Center found that 27% of respondents who received gift cards for the holidays last year have not yet used one or more of them -- up from 19% at the same time last year.

More than half of those survey respondents said they had not used their card yet because they didn’t have time and 35% said they could not find anything they wanted. Almost one-third said they didn’t use their card because they forgot about it.

Gift card sales have soared in recent years as more companies, ranging from retailers and mall operators to websites, sell them and shoppers see them as a quick and easy gift idea. Archstone Consulting expects sales of gift cards in the United States to jump 25% to $35 billion this holiday season.