Finally, a Solution to the Problem of the Lost or Misplaced Gift Card

Gift cards are a very popular go-to gift for the holidays. And a new survey from Bankrate found that an electronic gift card may be the way to go, particularly if you’re shopping for a young adult. According to Bankrate:

“Since millennials are more likely to lose plastic gift cards and are tied to their phones ’round-the-clock anyway, mobile gift cards are the perfect solution,” says Shelley Hunter, spokeswoman for GiftCards.com and creator of the Gift Card Girlfriend brand. “Electronic cards are easily accessible by phone, harder to misplace and can be tracked down if they are accidentally lost or deleted.”

Millennials are about twice as likely as other consumers to lose a physical gift card, the survey said.

Bankrate said 14 percent of millennials (18- to 29-year-olds) have given or received a digital gift card, compared with 7 percent of consumers ages 30 to 49 and 6 percent of 50- to 64-year-olds.

According to Today, sending an electronic gift card is easy.

You can go to the retailer’s website or shop at sites that sell discounted gift cards, such as GiftCards.com, CardCash, Card Hub, Cardpool and Gift Card Granny. And of course, there are also apps for that, such as Gyft, GoWallet, Giftly, GiftFly, GiftRocket and Yiftee.

Although digital gift cards are gaining popularity, they represented just 8 percent of the $85.8 billion spent on gift cards last year, Today said.

I’ve both given and received an electronic gift card. I think they’re really convenient gifts for friends and family, especially if they live out of town or, if you’re like me, you wait until the last minute to get a gift.

Do you purchase gift cards for holiday gifts? What do you think of electronic gift cards? Too impersonal, or a great solution to the problem of missing gift cards? Share your thoughts below or on our Facebook page.

Finally, if you ever have to shop for people who say they have everything and don’t need anything, check out the following video.