Secret Life of Gift Cards: Here’s What Happens to Billions That Go Unspent Each Year

Secret Life of Gift Cards: Here’s What Happens to Billions That Go Unspent Each Year
Gift cards are displayed at a Target store in New York on Dec. 21, 2023. Richard Drew/AP Photo
|Updated:
0:00

Gift cards make great stocking stuffers—just as long as you don’t stuff them in a drawer and forget about them after the holidays.

Americans are expected to spend nearly $30 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, making up one-third of those sales.