Gift cards are weird. I get them from the business’ point of view: customers pay money up front, and if the cards are used, no loss, but if not, it’s literally a donation to the business. You’re turning your versatile, widely accepted cash into company-specific currency that can’t be exchanged back, or used anywhere else. It does nothing but limit you.
And yet, as a consumer, they still have appeal. Someone asked me what I’d like for my birthday recently, and I said a McDonald’s gift card. What psychological force makes it easier for me to justify buying a milkshake with a gift card than my own credit card? It’s barely even any easier. I think a big part of it is the sense that I might as well buy something, since the money’s already spent. I don’t have the mental block of “ehh, do I really need this?” because McDonald’s already has the money, so why not pull up to the drive-through? But, when you get down to it, gift cards are clearly a terrible use of money.
Well played, marketers.
Illustration by Amara Gelaude
Jeff was The Cascade's Editor in Chief for the latter half of 2022, having previously served as Digital Media Manager, Culture & Events Editor, and Opinion Editor. One time he held all three of those positions for a month, and he's not sure how he survived that. He started at The Cascade in 2016.
