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Just more than half (55%) of consumers plan to buy about the same number of gift cards this holiday season as they did during last year's holiday season, according to a survey commissioned by Dallas-based Chase Paymentech LLC. This is the first year the payment-processing subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co. has done the survey, James Wester, a company spokesperson, tells CardLine. Twenty-one percent said they expect to buy more gift cards this year than last year, and 21% said they expect to spend more on gift cards this year than last. Between Aug. 27 and Sept. 3, 850 consumers answered online surveys about their gift card spending. The results suggest consumers expect to buy on average 3.6 cards and spend a total of $149 this holiday season. The survey also found that 85% of consumers who received a gift card in the past 12 months spent an average of $17.70 over the prepaid amount when redeeming the card. Of the consumers who bought gift cards in the past 12 months, 82% said they bought them at a specific retailer's location.
