Gift Card Weekend Jan. 4-6 Draws Deals from 17 Participating Merchants (Jan. 2, 2013)
Jan. 2, 2013
The gift card industry this week makes its big push for consumers to redeem gift cards received in 2012 during its second annual Gift Card Weekend Jan. 4-6 featuring special bonuses and promotions from gift card merchants. The event, launched last year and backed by the Retail Gift Card Association, so far is drawing active participation by 17 merchants, according to Liz Trimble, director of online for Kansas City, Mo.-based Gift Card Impressions, which conceived the event. InComm and Ceridian Stored Value Solutions are also helping to sponsor Gift Card Weekend.
Participating retailers are still tweaking offers on the Website, Trimble says. But the offers, available to consumers redeeming gift cards during the promotion time, are diverse, she notes. They include such deals as a free queso skillet appetizer and a free dessert from Chili’s; a free lip polish deluxe sample from Sephora with a $25 online purchase and candy from AMC Theatres that is discounted more than 50 percent with a combination purchase.
Despite gift card popularity during the holidays, 15 percent of Americans still have at least one unused gift card from 2011, according to a recent survey Consumer Reports conducted online in November with 1,500 adults. The goal of Gift Card Weekend is to offset those trends and “help retail partners and consumers alike” by encouraging consumers to redeem cards and driving more sales for participating retailers, said RGCA Executive Director Rebekka Rea.
