Expect a New "Benchmark" Day: Gift Card Tuesday

Most people are familiar with Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving when retailers finally go into the black because of the huge Christmas sales) and Cyber Monday (the Monday following Thanksgiving in which people make most of their holiday online purchases), now get ready for "Gift Card Tuesday." Tuesday was the day that I first heard reports of the impact all the gift cards sold in November was having on the economy (stores report the dollars in cards redeemed, not purchased). Those results were huge and actually turned the financial picture around for several retailers. This day was chosen by me because that is when I started to see stories on the impact; the economy watchers may connect the gift card impact to another day of the week. Regardless, this day will become huge in sizing up the economy's performance.

For decades the only measure of holiday sales that mattered was Black Friday. With the advent of the Internet we have seen the rapid rise of Cyber Monday. Gift Cards is now the new major player. Over time I believe gift cards are going to become the biggest factor, followed by Cyber Monday (with many purchases paid for with those cards) and then Black Friday. The Internet will continue to turn the economy -- and the world -- upside down.