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Article: U.S. Gift Card Market To See Rapid Sales Growth Through 2007; New TowerGroup Research Underscores Critical Differences Between Retailer Gift Cards and Bank-Issued Gift Cards.
- Article from:
- PR Newswire
- Article date:
- April 6, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 PR Newswire Association LLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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NEEDHAM, Mass., April 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Prepaid gift cards purchased in lieu of gift certificates have seen phenomenal growth in the seven years since their 1996 introduction by Blockbuster. Today, over 92% of consumers are aware of the product. Further, gift card dollar volume grew 50% from 2002 to 2003, totaling close to $45 billion in sales in 2003. TowerGroup projects significant growth for gift cards through 2007, to more than $90 billion in sales.
Yet the picture for gift cards has not been entirely rosy. Since the 2003 holiday season, numerous negative stories in the press have cast these products as "the gift that keeps on taking" --focusing on ...