ELECTRONIC GIFT CARDS GAINING POPULARITY.

MainStreet — Electronic gift cards are surging in popularity, especially among Millennials as the options to personalize have increased. Bankrate.com analyzed the terms and conditions of 62 widely-held gift cards in October 2014.

The increase in the availability of electronic gift cards translates into good news for Millennials since they are more than twice as likely to lose traditional plastic gift cards than older adults with 40% of 18-29 year-olds who admit to losing one. Mobile gift card usage among Millennials is double that of older adults.

“There are lots of reasons why electronic gift cards appeal to customers,” said Jeanine Skowronski, Bankrate.com credit card analyst. “For starters, they’re a quick fix for anyone who needs a gift on the fly. Second, unlike their plastic counterparts, they don’t take up excess real estate in your wallet. Though it may seem counterintuitive, a digital gift card can be easily personalized.”

While various age groups disagree on traditional versus electronic gift card usage, Millennials, Generation X and Boomers all prefer general purpose gift cards over cards that must be used at a particular store. Unfortunately, general purpose cards charge higher fees. All seven of the widely-held general-purpose cards that Bankrate surveyed charge purchase fees ranging from $3.95 to $6.95, whereas only 7% of store-specific cards charge purchase fees.