Blanketing the checkout aisle this holiday season: the guilt-free gift card.
Best Buy is rolling out a card that plays movie previews. Barnes & Noble is pairing one with a set of stone bookends. And the Container Store is offering an entire line of decorative gift-card holders.
From department stores to discounters, retailers are using innovative technology and clever packaging to give gift cards a more giftlike form.
The goal: to make shoppers feel good about giving the gift of plastic -- a present that, despite its popularity, has yet to shed its reputation as an unimaginative substitute for a traditional present, industry analysts say.
Gone, for many retailers, are the days of a simple plastic card presented in a simple paper envelope.
"That wasn't always enough for consumers who are hesitant to give a gift card," said David Gaston, president of Chicago-based Gaston Advertising Inc., which helps retailers design gift-card programs. "People want to make an impact with presentation."
Gift cards are hardly hurting for customers. U.S. consumers are expected to spend $17.3 billion on gift cards this holiday season, up $100 million from last year, according to the National Retail Federation, a Washington-based retail trade group.
Intense competition for consumers' gift-card dollars is spurring this year's innovation. With credit card companies, malls and even restaurants now offering gift cards, retailers say a boring card is a big risk. A smattering of options during Christmases past has now mushroomed across the industry.
"Having the right assortment is very important," said Anne Pratt, director of gift-card services at Best Buy.
Shoppers say they want gift cards to pack more punch. Alexandria resident Kathy Smarrella, 37, "hates" giving members of her family a gift card in an envelope. "It doesn't seem to involve any thought," she said.
