2008 Woodie Awards
Plastic Affection
Gifts that say "Don't bother me."
Brian Dean
Issue date: 12/14/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Gift cards are quickly becoming more popular and convenient, available everywhere from drug stores to fast-food restaurants. Where once actual products were advertised as the popular gift for the year, gift cards are now hyped as the best item to give and receive. Though seen as simple solutions to the worry over what to give people who are hard to shop for, these cards also epitomize thoughtlessness and the impersonal nature of gift-giving.
The National Retail Federation says that 75.5 percent of consumers plan on purchasing at least one gift card this year. That's good news for retailers, since shoppers often spend more than the face value of the card when they use it. Half of gift card recipients said they had unredeemed cards from last year, according to the 2005 Deloitte Consumer Holiday Survey.
With this many people looking for a gift that takes mere minutes to select and purchase, shouldn't the shopping-days-'til-Christmas countdown be pushed back a few weeks?
The gift-giving season (ideally lasts all year), encompassing Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa, should be a time to honor people whose good deeds, friendship and loyalty you have enjoyed all year; to be unselfish by giving and to be gracious in receiving. But many people feel under pressure to give, turning shopping into a dreaded chore.
You find yourself saying things like "I hate buying gifts for her," or "He'd better like what I got for him, or else!" Shopping for so-and-so is such a pain, so why try?
Thus, the gift card. It shows that you care just enough to grab something on the way to the cash register, arms full of real gifts for other people.
And it's just like giving cash. For the most part, the recipient is limited to one location - a subtle encouragement to buy something from a general category such as clothes, books or Jack in the Box. However, Visa boasts a gift card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. And since Visa is "everywhere you want to be," how can its gift card be considered any different than cash?
Maybe shoppers don't realize what negative messages can be conveyed by sending certain gift cards. Some employers give their workers gift cards to grocery stores as a holiday bonus. Are wages so pitiful that a reward constitutes access to basic necessities? And a gift card to a restaurant simply screams "Here, have a nice dinner, but not with me."
Putting a little thought into gift-giving is not that difficult. If you can't imagine what someone would like, get something you would like them to have. It truly is the thought that counts. And if the recipients have the nerve to complain about the gifts, given all the options available for returns and exchanges, perhaps they aren't worth your effort.
This year, resist the urge to take the easy way out. Give from the heart, and reasonable people will take notice and appreciate it more. Gifts with personality are always remembered.
The National Retail Federation says that 75.5 percent of consumers plan on purchasing at least one gift card this year. That's good news for retailers, since shoppers often spend more than the face value of the card when they use it. Half of gift card recipients said they had unredeemed cards from last year, according to the 2005 Deloitte Consumer Holiday Survey.
With this many people looking for a gift that takes mere minutes to select and purchase, shouldn't the shopping-days-'til-Christmas countdown be pushed back a few weeks?
The gift-giving season (ideally lasts all year), encompassing Christmas, Chanukah and Kwanzaa, should be a time to honor people whose good deeds, friendship and loyalty you have enjoyed all year; to be unselfish by giving and to be gracious in receiving. But many people feel under pressure to give, turning shopping into a dreaded chore.
You find yourself saying things like "I hate buying gifts for her," or "He'd better like what I got for him, or else!" Shopping for so-and-so is such a pain, so why try?
Thus, the gift card. It shows that you care just enough to grab something on the way to the cash register, arms full of real gifts for other people.
And it's just like giving cash. For the most part, the recipient is limited to one location - a subtle encouragement to buy something from a general category such as clothes, books or Jack in the Box. However, Visa boasts a gift card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted. And since Visa is "everywhere you want to be," how can its gift card be considered any different than cash?
Maybe shoppers don't realize what negative messages can be conveyed by sending certain gift cards. Some employers give their workers gift cards to grocery stores as a holiday bonus. Are wages so pitiful that a reward constitutes access to basic necessities? And a gift card to a restaurant simply screams "Here, have a nice dinner, but not with me."
Putting a little thought into gift-giving is not that difficult. If you can't imagine what someone would like, get something you would like them to have. It truly is the thought that counts. And if the recipients have the nerve to complain about the gifts, given all the options available for returns and exchanges, perhaps they aren't worth your effort.
This year, resist the urge to take the easy way out. Give from the heart, and reasonable people will take notice and appreciate it more. Gifts with personality are always remembered.
