ScripSmart's 2011 Gift Card Report represents an analysis of the 624 gift cards in ScripSmart's database of gift cards as of November 7, 2011. The data is structured such that a numbers closer to 100% represent consumer friendly terms and those closer to 0% represent areas where consumer friendliness can be improved most.
- Store-issued gift cards are issued by merchant's directly and are typically only redeemable at the issuers place of business. For example, an Amazon.com eGift Card or Bass Pro Shops Gift Card.
- Bank-issued gift cards examples are issued by banks, typically carry the logo of a major credit card brand. For example, the GiftcardMall.com Visa Gift Card or American Express eGift Card.
The first data point under 'No expiration' can be interpreted as: 97.5% of store-issued gift cards (plastic and electronic) in the ScripSmart database do not have an expiration date.
ScripSmart ranks gift cards based on consumer friendliness with Gift Card Score®, a 100 point system with 100 representing the most consumer friendly gift cards and 0 representing the least. Gift card scores are generated by an algorithm, all gift cards are evaluated using the same algorithm.
| Date: November 7, 2011 | ||||
 2011 Gift Card Report |
Store-issued | Bank-issued | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | Plastic Gift Cards | eGift Cards | Bank Gift Cards | |
| Average Gift Card Score | 75 |
74 |
78 |
56 |
| No expiration | 97.5% | 98% | 96% | 63.6% |
| No post-sale fees | 97.3% | 96.4% | 100% | 18.2% |
| Redeemable in-store and online* | 75.4% | 78.7% | 66.7% | N/A |
| Redeemable in-store* | 92.2% | 98.3% | 69.9% | 93.5% |
| Redeemable online* | 84.9% | 79.1% | 97.1% | 100% |
| Terms available online | 62.3% | 58.5% | 73.3% | 90.9% |
| FAQ available online | 51.3% | 48.8% | 58.7% | 97% |
| Replaceable if lost or stolen | 37.9% | 36.5% | 42% | 87.9% |
| Proof of purchase or receipt required for replacement† | 59.4% | 54% | 73% | 10.3% |
| Has cash back policy‡ |
3.6% | 3.9% | 2.7% | 24.2% |
| Free shipping | 76.5% | 68.5% | 100% | 81.8% |
| No purchase fee | 96.4% | 96.1% | 97.3% | 12.1% |
| Check balance online | 66.5% | 67.6% | 63.3% | 100% |
| Check balance by phone | 91.7% | 92.7% | 88.7% | 100% |
| Reloadable§ | 25.5% | 33.3% | 2.7% | N/A |
| Refundable‖ | 2.2% | 2.5% | 1.3% | 15.2% |
| Has scratch off security | 41.3% | 39.7% | N/A | 0% |
| Redeemable in-store at all locations | 84.7% | 82.4% | 92.9% | N/A |
| Mentions fees and expiration online* | 64% | 63.3% | 66% | 93.9% |
| Pay down charge account± | 5.6% | 5.7% | 5.4% | N/A% |
* Gift cards issued by merchants without such a store presence were excluded.
† Gift cards issued merchants not offering a replacement were excluded.
‡ Gift cards offering cash back only when required by law were excluded.
§ Due to federal laws, bank-issued gift card can never increase in value after the initial purchase.
‖ Can the gift card be returned for cash, much like retuning a sweater purchased with cash.
¶ Regardless if fees or expiration dates apply, does the merchant address fees or expirations online when making a purchase.
± Gift cards's issued by merchants who do not offer a charge account were excluded.
Questions, comments?
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