DES MOINES, Iowa — The 55 CUs which offer The Members Group's gift cards from the Atira program have found pretty strong demand in the first part of this year's holiday season, according to the CUSO, which is affiliated with the Iowa Credit Union League.
TMG reported that since the day after Thanksgiving, the official start of the holiday shopping season, the 55 CUs have sold nearly 15,000 of the instant issue gift cards with an average load of more than $90 per card.
"This is a strong start to the peak gift card season," said Jeff Falk, TMG director of product development. "During the past three holiday seasons, we have seen sales growth every season, but traditionally the first weekend isn't the biggest sales weekend. People are typically more focused on the sales that retailers are advertising rather than picking up a gift card for that special someone on their list."
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In fact, Falk compared the gift card purchase trend to resembling a hockey stick. "Sales are fairly flat following Thanksgiving and then rapidly trend upward the two weeks before Christmas with continued strong sales through the first of the year," he said. "So we are pleased to have a strong start."
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