IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jouret/v94y2018i4p380-392.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is a $200 Nordstrom Gift Card Worth More or Less Than a $200 Gap Gift Card? The Asymmetric Valuations of Luxury Gift Cards

Author

Listed:
  • Gunasti, Kunter
  • Baskin, Ernest

Abstract

Gift cards account for a $200 billion market in the US, yet little is known about consumers’ preferences and valuations of different gift cards. We examine how average US consumers feel about exchanging luxury brand gift cards (LGCs) versus non-luxury brand gift cards (NLGCs). Using secondary data analyses, surveys, and experiments, we demonstrate two asymmetries: between valuations of LGCs versus NLGCs and between valuations of gift cards by givers versus recipients. We show that LGCs are valued less than NLGCs with identical price tags. LGCs are more likely to be swapped or sold. Resellers demand and buyers pay lower prices for LGCs. These effects are mediated by the perceived utility of the gift cards as gifts and moderated by a person’s role in the gifting process. Gift givers value and prefer to give LGCs more, whereas recipients prefer and value NLGCs more.

Suggested Citation

  • Gunasti, Kunter & Baskin, Ernest, 2018. "Is a $200 Nordstrom Gift Card Worth More or Less Than a $200 Gap Gift Card? The Asymmetric Valuations of Luxury Gift Cards," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 94(4), pages 380-392.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:94:y:2018:i:4:p:380-392
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jretai.2018.07.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022435918300368
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jretai.2018.07.002?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tim Norvell & Alisha Horky, 2017. "A framework and model to evaluate promotions: A restaurant cross-promotion in-market study," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(4), pages 345-356, August.
    2. Jennifer Pate Offenberg, 2007. "Markets: Gift Cards," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 227-238, Spring.
    3. Otnes, Cele & Lowrey, Tina M & Kim, Young Chan, 1993. "Gift Selection for Easy and Difficult Recipients: A Social Roles Interpretation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 20(2), pages 229-244, September.
    4. Michelle F. Weinberger & Melanie Wallendorf, 2012. "Intracommunity Gifting at the Intersection of Contemporary Moral and Market Economies," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 39(1), pages 74-92.
    5. Cho, Yoon-Na & Baskin, Ernest, 2018. "It's a match when green meets healthy in sustainability labeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 119-129.
    6. Steven T. Berry, 1994. "Estimating Discrete-Choice Models of Product Differentiation," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 25(2), pages 242-262, Summer.
    7. Kunter Gunasti & William T. Ross Jr., 2009. "How Inferences about Missing Attributes Decrease the Tendency to Defer Choice and Increase Purchase Probability," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(5), pages 823-837, October.
    8. Yao, Qing & Chen, Rong, 2014. "Gift Cards and Gifted Cash: The Impact of Fit between Gift Type and Message Construal," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(4), pages 481-492.
    9. Waldfogel, Joel, 1993. "The Deadweight Loss of Christmas," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1328-1336, December.
    10. Ernest Baskin & Cheryl J. Wakslak & Yaacov Trope & Nathan Novemsky, 2014. "Why Feasibility Matters More to Gift Receivers than to Givers: A Construal-Level Approach to Gift Giving," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(1), pages 169-182.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cheng, Andong & Meloy, Margaret G. & Polman, Evan, 2021. "Picking Gifts for Picky People," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 191-206.
    2. Carlson, Jay P. & Paul, Iman, 2022. "Pick a card: Price ranges and gift card choice," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Khouja, Moutaz & Hammami, Ramzi, 2023. "Optimizing price, order quantity, and return policy in the presence of consumer opportunistic behavior for online retailers," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 309(2), pages 683-703.
    4. Reshadi, Farnoush, 2023. "Failing to give the gift of improvement: When and why givers withhold self-improvement gifts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    5. Cheng, Andong & Baskin, Ernest, 2021. "Disproportionate redemption discounting: Mental accounting of discounted credit," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 156-163.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cheng, Andong & Meloy, Margaret G. & Polman, Evan, 2021. "Picking Gifts for Picky People," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 191-206.
    2. Givi, Julian, 2020. "(Not) giving the same old song and dance: Givers’ misguided concerns about thoughtfulness and boringness keep them from repeating gifts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 87-98.
    3. Ertimur, Burçak & Muñoz, Caroline & Hutton, James G., 2015. "Regifting: A multi-perspective processual overview," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(9), pages 1997-2004.
    4. Laura Birg & Anna Goeddeke, 2016. "Christmas Economics—A Sleigh Ride," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 54(4), pages 1980-1984, October.
    5. Principe, Kristine E. & Eisenhauer, Joseph G., 2009. "Gift-giving and deadweight loss," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 215-220, March.
    6. Zhang, Qinhong & Zhang, Dali & Segerstedt, Anders & Luo, Jianwen, 2018. "Optimal ordering and pricing decisions for a company issuing product-specific gift cards," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 92-102.
    7. Reshadi, Farnoush, 2023. "Failing to give the gift of improvement: When and why givers withhold self-improvement gifts," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    8. Carlson, Jay P. & Paul, Iman, 2022. "Pick a card: Price ranges and gift card choice," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    9. Felső, Flóra Á & Soetevent, Adriaan R., 2014. "Broad and narrow bracketing in gift certificate spending," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 284-302.
    10. Khouja, Moutaz & Pan, Jingming & Zhou, Jing, 2016. "Effects of gift cards on optimal order and discount of seasonal products," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 248(1), pages 159-173.
    11. Julian Givi & Yumei Mu, 2023. "The Oversensitivity in Gift-Giving Phenomenon," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 34(4), pages 619-631, December.
    12. Kirsten Cowan & Nathalie Spielmann, 2017. "The influence of rituals on luxury product consumption: implications for brands," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 24(5), pages 391-404, October.
    13. Daum-Avital, Liora & Azar, Ofer H., 2023. "Courtesy versus efficiency: Personal gifts and monetary gifts – Preferences and norms in Israeli society," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    14. Guido, Gianluigi & Pino, Giovanni & Peluso, Alessandro M., 2016. "Assessing individuals' re-gifting motivations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5956-5963.
    15. Wang, Lili & You, Yanfen & Yang, Chun-Ming, 2020. "Restrained by resources: The effect of scarcity cues and childhood socioeconomic status (SES) on consumer preference for feasibility," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 557-571.
    16. Lusk, Jayson L. & Weaver, Amanda, 2017. "An experiment on cash and in-kind transfers with application to food assistance programs," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 186-192.
    17. Yuefeng Li & Jingming Pan & Jing Zhou, 2022. "Optimal pricing with free gift cards in a two-product supply chain," Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 125-155, March.
    18. Flora Felso & Adriaan R. Soetevent, 2012. "How Consumers use Gift Certificates," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 12-002/1, Tinbergen Institute, revised 27 Nov 2013.
    19. Huh, Yesol & Kim, You Suk, 2023. "Cheapest-to-deliver pricing, optimal MBS securitization, and welfare implications," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(1), pages 68-93.
    20. Donna, Javier D. & Pereira, Pedro & Trindade, Andre & Yoshida, Renan C., 2020. "Direct-to-Consumer Sales by Manufacturers and Bargaining," MPRA Paper 105773, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jouret:v:94:y:2018:i:4:p:380-392. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-retailing .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.