Imagine being able to purchase all your holiday gifts at your local convenience store. With the wide selection of gift cards at most CVS/Pharmacy and 7- Eleven stores, customers have that easy option. But are students replacing the holiday madness at the malls for one trip to the grocery store?
“It depends on who I am shopping for,” said Chris Brown, a senior criminology and criminal justice major. “If it is my family, I like to get them things with hidden messages, but I get friends gift cards.”
The 7-Eleven on Route 1 has a minimal selection of gift cards for businesses ranging from iTunes to Applebee’s. The store also carries gift cards from credit card companies for those who are having trouble deciding on a store.
“Everyone is coming in to buy gift cards,” said Mimi Taye, a supervisor at the 7-Eleven on Route 1. “The most popular are the American Express and Visa cards.”
Mike Conner, a sophomore letters and sciences major, benefits from the easy access to gift cards and said he mostly gives gifts cards. “I get gift cards because it is convenient, easy and sometimes I don’t know what to get,” he said.
Many students give gift cards because they want people to pick out presents for themselves.
“I want them to be able to make a choice about what they want, instead of me buying them something and they don’t like it,” said Liadi Aaron, a freshman government and politics and Spanish language and literature major.
Toya Joefield, a store manager at the CVS/Pharmacy on Route 1, also said gift cards allow gift recipients to get what they want.
“There are a lot less returns with gift cards,” Joefield said. “If students don’t have the time, they come here and buy gift cards.”
CVS/Pharmacy has racks of gift cards organized by the type of store they are for. The card amounts range from $25 to $100 and sponsoring businesses include Home Depot and Nordstrom.
A lot of students, however, still enjoy holiday shopping at the malls.
“Christmas is about caring about loved ones and gifts are more personalized, so it gives you a chance to show that you pay attention to them,” said Krystal Tapia, a freshman economics major.
Some students said the good thing about buying presents is that the price of the gift cannot be seen.
“I would rather get presents than gift cards,” said Morgan Opie, a junior government and politics major. “When you buy gift cards it’s like actual money, which is not really a present.”
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