Shoppers run out of ideas; go for gift cards

Evan Schuman of StorefrontBacktalk writes about the rise of holiday gift cards as shoppers run of time and ideas. According to the Web traffic figures from Hitwise, searches for gift cards rose by 109% as compared to the previous week. Top searches for gift cards included Visa gitcard, AmericanExpress giftcard, iTunes giftcard, Rite Aid giftcard, the Simon Mall giftcard etc.

A Hitwise statement attributed to GM Bill Tancer said “branded credit and charge gift cards dominated top searches as gift givers opted for the most flexibility for their gift recipients.” It’s more likely they dominated the searches because advertising made them top-of-mind for desperate consumers.