Lisa Steinmetz of Taylorsville braved some chilly weather last week to do some Christmas shopping in downtown Salt Lake City. A bag of this. A sack of that.
Among the presents were gift cards for her colleagues at work.
"This is my second time coming back to buy them for work. I was thinking about buying them for friends and people I haven't talked to for a while," she said. "I don't usually get them for my family, because I usually buy presents for them, but usually for friends or people I don't see a lot, I'll usually send them a card."
Steinmetz is not alone. Research indicates that, more than ever, Americans are card-carrying members of the holiday shopping force.
A National Retail Federation survey shows that nearly 8 percent of all holiday sales will be in the form of gift cards. Nearly 70 percent of shoppers expect to buy at least one gift card for the holidays, and nearly half of those surveyed said they want the cards as gifts.
Mike Wolters, a team leader at the Super Target in Centerville, said gift-card purchases are on the rise this year.
"I can't give specific numbers, but I can tell you the current trend is definitely the same as the last few years. Gift card use is going up. It's the convenience of it. Guests like to have the ability to choose what they want," he said.
"Another side to the argument is that people are short on time. It will be interesting to see if there are more gift-card sales the last few days before the holidays."
A survey by Stored Value Systems Inc., a national gift-card supplier and processor, is among those indicating heavy gift-card buying for the holidays.
"Our study suggests that gift cards have become a holiday tradition for many families and will continue to grow as a gift of choice," Wayne Chatham, SVS senior vice president of sales and marketing, said in a prepared statement.
SVS spokesman Mike Brewer said that for the first time since the company introduced the first electronic gift card in 1995, several top retail customers report that cards — not merchandise — will be the top-selling item in their stores.
The advantages of gift cards, known as "stored value cards," are obvious. They're less of a paperwork hassle than their cousin, gift certificates, and are an easy way for a gift-buyer to present something tangible for something intangible, such as a gift card to a movie theater.
Gift cards also can represent a completely cash-free transaction if the buyer uses a credit card to obtain them.
Brewer said shoppers are clearly viewing gift cards as a personalized choice rather than a last-minute buy; that the plastic cards have advantages over paper gift certificates, which are easier to lose, forget or tear; and that some are becoming collectibles in some industry segments.
For Steinmetz, gift cards represent flexibility and time-savings. For Terry Clark of Salt Lake City, it's about convenience and smooth shopping.
"I do buy gift cards. I've got nieces and nephews, and it's really easy to buy gift cards for them," Clark said. "It's easier. It's easier on me and my wife, and it's probably better for the recipients. Then they can go out and get what they want and you don't make that many mistakes. It's convenient, actually."
But a card conundrum continues to persist: Is buying a gift card thoughtless or thoughtful? Is it a cop-out for people too clueless to know what the recipient likes or wants, or are the buyers just trying to give them what they want by letting them buy what they want?
It can be a matter of interpretation as buyers settle into — or capitalize on — a huge gray area between cash and merchandise.
"It's like a glass of water that's either half-full or half-empty, depending on how you want to look at it," said Dave Brennan, professor of marketing for the College of Business at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota and co-director of its Institute for Retailing Excellence.
"Some of the barriers have eroded over time as far as the negative perception about gift certificates and gift cards. I think you'll see more of it, not less of it, because it's becoming increasingly acceptable."
For older folks, he said, they may not be able to go out and do the shopping, or they don't have enough insights into what the recipients want. "They don't want to buy the wrong thing or the wrong size where ultimately they have to go back the week after Christmas to return it, which is pretty excruciating."
"Shoppers are trying to be conscious of what the gift recipients want," said Ellen Tolley, spokeswoman for the National Retail Federation. "They know that many people don't like to stand in line the next day at the return counter. Many are opting for gift cards so that doesn't happen. Also, many consumers are last-minute shoppers, and gift cards are a good alternative for them."
Like Brennan, Tolley believes gift cards and certificates are becoming more acceptable as presentable presents.
"Many people like to pick out their own presents, especially teens and young adults getting gifts from members of the family not as in touch with what they want. They appreciate any gift, but getting a gift you've had your eye on can be more rewarding than a gift under the tree," Tolley said.
She added that gift cards are "a great alternative for the person who has everything."
Clark said he doesn't expect to buy any more this season than last but wouldn't mind being on the receiving end. "I don't get too many, but I frankly wish I would," he said. "From some of my relatives, I'd rather get gift cards. Then I know what I like and can go out and pick it out. A lot of times you get the wrong gift, it doesn't fit or it's the wrong thing, you know?"
Brennan said a survey in Minnesota indicates that people are using cards as a substitute for that old holiday favorite: cash.
"In other instances, they're saying, 'I know he wants electronics, so I'll give him a gift card from Circuit City, because Circuit City stores are everywhere,' " he said. In that sense, gift cards are more advantageous to chain stores than independents, according to Brennan.
Some stores are trying to capitalize on the gift-card craze. They strategically place the cards near the cash registers to make them an attractive impulse purchase. Or they present small-amount gift cards as a reward for buying a certain level of merchandise, Brennan said.
The trend of purchase flexibility hasn't been lost on the gift certificate industry. For example, GiftCertificates.com offers a "SuperCertificate" that can be redeemed online for original gift certificates at any of hundreds of stores, restaurants or other merchants.
The experts said gift cards vs. gifts makes little fundamental difference to retailers. Sometimes the accounting for the purchase occurs when the cards are redeemed rather than when purchased, meaning holiday buys may show up on ledgers in January or February instead of December.
But they do have a couple of positives for stores, including the urge by recipients to toss in a few extra bucks to get what they want when redeeming the cards.
"One benefit is ensuring continued traffic in your store," Tolley said. "If they (the card buyers) are not coming back, someone else (the recipient) will be, for that amount of money and perhaps a little bit more. If they're getting $50 in free money, spending $10 more is not a difficult decision for a lot of shoppers."
And while the experts expect sales of holiday gift cards to grow in the future, none is ready to say that cards will overtake traditional gift-buying anytime soon.
"Gift cards make good add-ons, but having something to open for the holidays is important, especially when it comes to kids," Tolley said. "No 8-year-old is going to be happy with a gift card. They want the instant gratification of a toy."
E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com