From the Starbucks gift card that buys your co-worker
his morning eye-opener to the extravagant Four Seasons
gift card that tops out at a generous $100,000, gift cards
have long been regarded as a highly convenient and welcome
present. Enter technology, once again, with a new twist on
this multi-billion dollar industry – mobile gift cards.
By Lonelle Selbo Illustration by Stuart Daly
A GIFT CARD PROVIDES the receiver with the
opportunity to exercise their own tastes and
choose something they actually want, re-
ducing inevitable product returns and the
need to lie about how much they really loved
that reindeer sweater. On the other side of
the transaction, the provider eliminates
shopping time and eradicates the pressure
to get the perfect gift. Rounding out the
“everybody wins” equation, the sale of gift
cards provides retailers with a valuable rev-
enue stream, one that helps even out the
dramatic sales drop after the holiday spend-
ing season ends. (Most retailers don’t record
gift card sales until they’re redeemed, so
they’re often not counted until after the
holiday rush.) As an added benefit, custom-
ers with gift cards will often spend up to
