An assortment of gift cards many from U.S. national retailers such as Best Buy Target and Home Depot.
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 and the most-wanted gift by women and the third-most wanted by males. 1 Gift cards have become increasingly popular as they relieve the donor of selecting a specific gift. 2 In Canada 1.8 billion dollars were spent on gift cards whereas in the United States about 80 billion were paid for gift cards in 2006. 3 4 The recipient of the gift card can use it at his or her discretion within the restrictions set by the issuing agency.
