People love gift cards. No matter what the occasion and who the recipient is, gift cards sell like hot cakes. The gift card industry is huge. During the yearend festivities, through Christmas and New Year, people buy gift cards worth $31 billion. Experts are anticipating an increase in that amount this year. Studies have indicated that the average spending on gift cards this year would rise from last year’s $163.16 to $172.74. These stats are not surprising considering gift cards floating around during such times and scores of companies issuing gift cards of various kinds.
In the frenzy of gift cards, Amazon gift card is the second most popular choice this year. This has been inferred in a report published by the financial blog WalletHub. The report listed two dozen popular gift cards and Amazon ranked an undisputed second, with Visa taking the top spot.
It is not surprising that Visa has taken the first spot since it is the most widely used merchant across the country and indeed across the globe. Any retailer or ecommerce site worth its salt would accept Visa. That facility makes it one of the easiest gift cards in the world, from the perspective of using. Besides, Visa has its secured setup and the ease of buying anything one wants. Certain Visa gift cards also have the luxury to cash out at ATMs which make them even more popular.
Amazon gift card grabbing the second spot is not surprising but for many it may be a little bit of a reality check. Conventional gift cards from Wal-Mart and the likes have been the frontrunners but Amazon gift card has been experiencing growing popularity in the last few years. The reality is that ecommerce has shaped up faster and stronger than many had anticipated. With a global presence and almost everything being sold on the site, Amazon gift card is easily usable and the plethora of choices only makes it more rewarding.
The top five in the list of 24 most popular gift cards, Visa and Amazon gift card is followed by iTunes gift card, American Express gift card and Netflix gift card. The only real surprise in that list is possibly Netflix but then again it has been experiencing unprecedented popularity as well.
If you are looking for a great gift but don’t really have the time or certainty of what you should buy, an Amazon gift card would be the ideal choice.
