Holiday Sales of Book Sense Gift Cards Soar

While holiday season sales predictions sometimes err on the side of optimism, it appears that pre-holiday forecasts regarding gift cards might have underestimated how popular the items were with consumers ... at least at bookstores participating in the Book Sense Gift Card Program. According to gift card sales figures recently compiled by ABA, sales of Book Sense gift cards increased by 256 percent in December 2004, compared to the same period last year.

"These sales figures clearly bear out the burgeoning popularity of gift cards," said Jill Perlstein, director of marketing for ABA. "Many booksellers are realizing that consumers no longer think of gift cards as something to be purchased as an afterthought or a last resort. More and more consumers come into a store specifically looking to purchase cards for family and friends. It's no wonder that a growing number of Book Sense bookstores see carrying gift cards as a crucial and profitable ingredient in their store's inventory mix -- and a vital component in their store's ability to remain competitive."

Overall, in December 2004, approximately 250 participating Book Sense stores sold 69,807 gift cards for sales totaling $1.9 million, compared to 100 locations selling 22,435 gift cards, totaling sales of $579,783 in December 2003. The average sale-per-card was $26.62 in December 2004, compared to average sale-per-card of $25.84 in December 2003.

Certainly, those booksellers who spoke with BTW were enthusiastic about sales of Book Sense Gift Cards this past holiday season. "Over the holidays, we saw a gift-card-sales increase of 20 percent over last year," said LuAnn Salz of the 1,700-square-foot Green River Books in Princeton, Illinois, who noted that the store joined the gift card program in October 2003. "That's a huge jump.... It caught us short of cards. We had enough up until Christmas Eve, but we didn't anticipate that much of a jump."

At the Vista Book Gallery, a 1,000-square-foot bookstore in Boise, Idaho, Diane Leaverton noted that the store did "really well" with gift cards this past holiday season. "People spend more per gift card than per gift certificate," she said, adding that offering consumers "pre-made gift cards" for various dollar amounts had paid off for the store this season. "People would say, 'If you've already made up a $50 gift card, give me the $50 card instead of the $40 [gift card I had planned to purchase],'" Leaverton said.

Said Terry Gilman of The Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego, California, "We love being part of the Book Sense Gift Card Program because of the greater technology -- we carry the card and our own paper gift certificates.... The gift cards are an extremely popular way to give a gift and the Book Sense Gift Card raises awareness of independent booksellers and Book Sense. In my opinion, raising awareness is a huge job to be undertaken, and we're trying to do our part."

As to why gift cards' popularity has taken off both with consumers and retailers, booksellers remarked on the cards' convenience and ease-of-use. "I think it's how easy it is to track and redeem," said Leaverton. "It's just the convenience and competitiveness of it -- everybody else carries gift cards."

Said Green River's Salz, "I think the ease of purchasing them and the ease of using them -- people are more comfortable giving gift cards to someone if they don't know what that person likes to read."

Booksellers' experiences were similar to other retail businesses. The National Retail Federation has reported that almost 70% of consumers bought a gift card during the holiday season. And research by Paymentech, a business payment processing company, found that almost half of a nationwide sample of consumers surveyed between December 26 and 28 said they received a gift card during the holiday season, with 16 percent receiving three or more cards. --David Grogan