• Gift Cards: An Introduction
• Why Do Consumers Like Gift Cards?
• Why Do Merchants Like Gift Cards?
• Data Mining
• Efficiencies
• Figure 1-1 Amount of Time (hours) Spent Holiday Shopping/Gift Wrapping, 2004
• Figure 1-2 Amount of Time (hours) Spent Holiday Shopping/Gift Wrapping, Men vs. Women, 2004
• Figure 1-3 Amount of Time (hours) Spent Holiday Shopping/Gift Wrapping, 2004, By Age
• Figure 1-4 How Often Do Consumers Surpass Gift-giving Budgets?
• Figure 1-5 How Often Do Consumers Surpass Gift-giving Budgets? (Men vs. Women)
• Source: MasterCard Prepaid Gift Card Survey Quantitative Research Report, 2005
• Figure 1-6 Likelihood of Staying Within Holiday Budget If Shopping with Prepaid Gift Cards
• Store Versus National Gift Cards (Closed vs. Open Looped)
• Table 1-1 2004 Holiday Gift Card/Gift Certificates Received, by Type: Store, National, Restaurant (%)
• Variants to Closed and Open Loop
• Bank Card Positives
• Table 1-2 2004 Holiday Gift Card/Gift Desirability: Consumer Response, by Type: Store, National, Restaurant (%)
• Table 1-3 2004 Holiday Gift Card/Gift Desirability: Store, National, Restaurant, by Age
• Bank Card Negatives
  • Cross Selling May Not Materialize
  • Fees
  • Case Study: American Express
  • Give The People What They Want
  • Travelers Check Card
  • American Express Gift Card
  • Securing an Advantage over the Competition
  • High Customer Satisfaction, Repeat Business, and
  • Continued Expansion
  • Overall Company Benefits
  • Room to Grow
  • AMEX Mall Card

Chapter 2 Gift Card Market Drivers

• Positive Market Drivers
  • Gift Card Sales Are Extending Into New Sectors
  • Kiosks
  • Expanded Online Gift Card Sales, Redemptions
  • Point-of-Sale Activation
  • Restaurant POS Systems Adding Gift Card-Enabled Features
  • Loyalty Function Can Be Integrated
  • Teen Buying Power
  • An Insatiable Appetite for Gift Cards
  • Quick Spenders
  • Year-Round Buyers
  
  
• Negative Market Drivers
  • Fees on Gift Cards Deter Consumers
  • Legal and Regulatory Battles Create Instability for Issuers, Merchants
  • The Simon Property Group Case
  • Fraud
  • Gift Card Scams
  • Close to Home: Employee Theft
  • Professional Thieves and Identity Theft
  • Target Gets Hit with Scam, Then Hits Back
  • Online Fraud
  • Shoplisting
  • Gift Card Theft Prevention
  • Employee Theft Prevention Tactics
  • Limiting Cash Loss Gift Card Amount and Usage Limits
  • Exception Reporting: Creating a Gift Card Audit Trail
  • K-Mart Closes the Gap on Gift Card Fraud
  
  
• Market Size & Growth Forecast
  • Table 2-1 Holiday Season Gift Card Growth: 2003—2005
  • Table 2-2 U.S. Consumer Gift Card Purchases & Use: 2001—2005
  • Table 2-3 U.S. Gift Card Market Volume: 2005-1010

Chapter 3 Distribution Summary And Trends

• Table 3-1 Most Desirable Cards by Redemption Category, 2005
• Table 3-2 Most Desirable Cards by Redemption Category, by Gender, 2005
• Table 3-3 Most Desirable Cards by Redemption Category, by Age, 2005
• Table 3-4 Most Desirable Cards by Redemption Category, by Income, 2005
• Table 3-5 Most Desirable Cards by Redemption Category, by Region, 2005
• Restaurants
  • Table 3-6 Dining Gift Card Desirability
  • QSR In-Store Kiosks Accepting Gift Cards
  • Restaurants Integrating Gift Cards With Loyalty
  • Third-Party Relaters New Revenue Stream for Restaurant Gift Cards
  • McDonald’s Launches Reloadable Arch Gift Card
  • Subway
  • Regional Players Move to Gift Cards
  • Most Pizza Chains Slicing Up Gift Card Profits
  • Reloadable Multi-Brand Gift Cards
  • The Restaurant Industry and Escheat Laws
  
  
• Starbucks: A Gift Card Industry Leader
  • Table 3-7 Starbucks Prepaid Cards Activated: 2001—2004
  • Strong Customer Service
  • Service Fees Eliminated
  • Banks, Third-Party Vendors Capitalize on Starbucks’ Name
  • Make-Up Cards
  
  
• Supermarkets, C-Stores and Gas Outlets
  • Expanding Already-Existing One-Stop Shopping
  • Credit Card Processing Technology Helps Fuel Cheaper Gift Card Solutions
  • Safeway Leading the Way
  • Convenience Stores and Gasoline Retailers Capitalize on Gift Cards
  • The Oil Giants Tap Gift Card Space
  • Shell Oil Gift Card Program
  • Chevron/Texaco
  • A Gas-Retail Teaming to Watch: Murphy Oil Teams with Wal-Mart
  • 7-Eleven Pushes the Envelope by Unveiling Dedicated Gift Card Center
  
  
• Gift Cards and Kiosks
  • Kiosks Gaining Traction at Convenience Stores
  • Gift Card Kiosks and Readers Infiltrating Malls
  • Coinstar Kiosks Available at Malls and Supermarkets
  • Amazon to Issue Gift Receipts at Coinstar Kiosks
  • Gift Card Exchanges Now Teaming With Retailers
  
  
• Book Sellers
  • American Booksellers Association’s Book Sense Gift Card Program
  • Table 3-8 Book Sense Gift Card Participants, Sales, and Average Sale per Gift Card: 2003-2004
  • Legal Issues
  • The U.S. Postal Service
  
  
• Corporate Gift Cards
  • Corporations Increasingly Use Gift Cards
  • Table 3-9 Key Reasons for Choosing Gift Cards the Most as Incentives
  • Wal-Mart Enters the Fray
  • Gift Card Processor Targets Small Businesses
  • Software Solution May Help
  
  
• Customer Incentives
• The Online Channel
  • The Internet and E-Commerce: An Ever-Increasing Marketplace
  • Table 3-10 Sources for Gift Shopping, by Age
  • More Gift Cards Being Bought, Spent Online

Chapter 4 Seasonal and Event Trends

• 2004 Holiday Season Recap
• Gift Card Predictions for 2004
• Holiday 2004 Results
• Not Just a Passing Fad
• Financial Institutions Join the Fray
• Discover Card
• Post-Holiday Gift Card Redemption Patterns
• Maximizing Holiday Gift Card Profits
• Gift Card Redemption Campaigns
• Another Solid Holiday Gift Card Season Predicted for 2005
• Table 4-1 Top Occasions to Receive Gift Cards, 2005
• Table 4-2 Top Occasions to Receive Gift Cards, by Gender, 2005
• Table 4-3 Top Occasions to Receive Gift Cards, by Age, 2005
• Table 4-4 Top Occasions to Receive Gift Cards, by Income, 2005

Chapter 5 The Consumer

• Teen Buying Power: The Group That Potentially Keeps On Giving
• Teen Spending Habits
• An Insatiable Appetite for Gift Cards
• Quick Spenders
• Discerning, Year-Round Buyers
• The Visa Buxx Card
• The Internet and E-Commerce: An Ever-Increasing Marketplace
• Online Buying Favored Over Catalogs
• Table 5-1 Sources for Gift Shopping, by Age
• Table 5-2 Gift Card Preferences, by Age: Store, National, or Restaurant
• Holiday Gift Card Analysis by Age, Gender, and Income
  • Consumer Gift Buying Plans
  • Table 5-3Types of Gifts Consumers Plan to Buy: 2003 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Table 5-4 Types of Gifts Consumers Plan to Buy: 2004 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Table 5-5 Gifts Consumers Plan to Buy: 2005 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Table 5-6 Adults Planning to Purchase at Least One Gift Card: 2004 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Table 5-7 Adults Planning to Purchase at Least One Gift Card: 2005 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Number of Gift Cards Purchased
  • Table 5-8 Number of Cards Purchased: 2003 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Table 5-9 Number of Cards Purchased: 2004 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Table 5-10 Number of Cards Purchased: 2005 Holiday Season, by Age
  • Dollar Values of Gift Card Purchases
  • Table 5-11 Money Spent on Gift Cards: 2003 Holiday Season, by Amount and Age
  • Table 5-12 Money Spent on Gift Cards: 2004 Holiday Season, by Amount and Age
  • Table 5-13 Money Spent on Gift Cards: 2005 Holiday Season, by Amount and Age
  
  
• Gender & Income
  • Consumer Gift Buying Plans
  • Table 5-14 Types of Gifts Purchased: 2003 Holiday Season, By Gender and Income
  • Table 5-15 Types of Gifts Purchased: 2004 Holiday Season, By Gender and Income
  • Table 5-16 Types of Gifts Purchased: 2005 Holiday Season
  • Adults Planning on Purchasing a Gift Card
  • Table 5-17 Adults Planning to Purchase at Least One Gift Card: 2004 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Table 5-18 Adults Planning to Purchase at Least One Gift Card: 2005 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Number of Gift Cards Purchased
  • Table 5-19 Number of Cards Purchased: 2003 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Table 5-20 Number of Cards Purchased: 2004 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Table 5-21 Number of Cards Purchased: 2005 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Dollar Values of Gift Card Purchases
  • Table 5-22 Money Spent on Gift Cards: 2003 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Table 5-23 Money Spent on Gift Cards: 2004 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income
  • Table 5-24 Money Spent on Gift Cards: 2005 Holiday Season, by Gender and Income

Chapter 6 Accounting, Regulatory and Legal Issues

• Gift Card Accounting Confusion
• Gift Card Accounting Policies Affect Retailer Bottom Line
• When to Treat Gift Card Proceeds as Revenue Creates Ambiguity
• Profits from Gift Card Breakage Accrue on Balance Sheets
• Other Retailers Carry Large Gift Card Carryovers
• Book Sense Gift Card Financial Analysis
• Table 6-1 American Booksellers Association’s Book Sense Profitability Analysis: Year One
• Table 6-2 American Booksellers Association’s Book Sense Profitability Analysis: Year Two*
• Fees on Gift Cards a Contentious Issue
• Glossary of Common Gift Card Fees
• Legal Wrangling Over Gift Cards
• Six Major Legal Categories
• The Simon Property Group Case
• Three States Cry Foul
• Bank Issued versus Mall Issued Gift Cards: The Feds Versus
• The States
• National Bank Act Does Not Preempt State Law on Gift Cards
• New York Joins The Fray
• Judges Side with Connecticut, New Hampshire
• Escheat
• The Name Game: Whose Gift Card Is It?
• Breakdown of State Escheat Laws
• Table 6-3 Summary of State Positions on Escheat: 2005
• Changes in the FDIC Rule to Stored Value Card Insurance Protection Loom
• State-by-State Legislation Regarding Gift Cards (2003-2005)
  • Alabama
  • Alabama Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Alaska
  • Alaska Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Arizona
  • Arizona Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Colorado Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Connecticut
  • Connecticut Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Delaware
  • Delaware Laws Enacted in 2005
  • District of Columbia
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Georgia Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Illinois Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Indiana
  • Indiana Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maine Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Maryland
  • Maryland Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Michigan Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Minnesota
  • Minnesota Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Mississippi
  • Mississippi Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Missouri
  • Missouri Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Montana
  • Montana Laws Enacted 2005
  • Nebraska
  • Nebraska Pending Legislation 2005
  • Nevada
  • Nevada Laws Enacted in 2005
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Jersey Pending Legislation in 2005
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • New York Laws Enacted in 2004
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • North Dakota Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Ohio
  • Ohio Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Oklahoma
  • Oklahoma Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Oregon
  • Oregon Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Pennsylvania
  • Pennsylvania Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Rhode Island
  • Rhode Island Laws Enacted in 2005
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Tennessee Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Texas
  • Texas Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Vermont Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Virginia
  • Virginia Laws Enacted in 2005
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • West Virginia Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Wisconsin
  • Wisconsin Pending Legislation in 2005
  • Wyoming