Retailers' holiday sales growth could extend well into next month due to a renewal of demand for gift cards.
Holiday shoppers were expected to spend an average of $155.43 on gift cards, up from $145.61 in 2010 and representing a four-year peak, according to the National Retail Federation. This year was the fifth consecutive year in which gift cards were the most requested holiday gift, and NRF estimates that total gift-card spending this holiday season should reach $27.8 billion.
Meanwhile, a consumer-tracking poll by Goldman Sachs and the International Council of Shopping Centers found that gift-card spending climbed to almost 18 percent of total holiday spending this year, the highest percentage in five years and up from 14.6 percent in 2010 and 13.1 percent in 2009. The spending "might suggest a better sales performance in January as a result," says ICSC's Michael Niemira. A BDO survey found that 57 percent of retailers offering gift cards anticipated sales growth this holiday season, versus 47 percent last year.
