Bob Tedeshi reports on results from the holiday season for online merchants and, in particular, the very strong sales of gift cards.
As online merchants began tallying the results of a stronger-than-expected holiday season, they were further buoyed last week by another bit of good news: gift certificates, a favored scrip among post-holiday bargain hunters, enjoyed their best season ever online. By Dec. 20, holiday sales of gift cards and e-mail gift certificates had soared 64 percent over last year, pushing the 2002 total toward the $250 million mark, according to comScore Networks, an Internet research firm.