Why Companies Love Gift Cards

I don't know how long this will be up, but if you go to Yahoo! Finance it has a poll that reads:

What percentage of gift cards go unused?
a) 8.5%
b) 15.5%
c) 24.5%
d) 31.5%

I'll spill the beans in the flip... so if you want to go "officially guess" do that now.  

The answer:

8.5%
According to the National Retail Federation, $18.5B worth of gift cards will be handed out this holiday season, up 6.6% from 2004. In total, an estimated $56B will be spent on gift cards in 2005 alone. Retailers love the concept of gift cards because it simplifies the gift-giving process for some consumers and because they know that not all cards will be redeemed for their full amount. According to a recent study by the TowerGroup, 8.5% of the value of gift cards go unredeemed, accounting for approximately $4.8 Billion each year.

Man o' man, is that a lot of money.  I need to start selling gift cards.

Remember, we must fight to put Christ back into the Commercialization of Christmas!