Gift cards are the second most popular holiday present but a study says that about a billion dollars will be wasted on them. C-E-B TowerGroup says about 130-billion dollars a year are spent on Gift cards but that many recipients either never use them or make a purchase and never spend the balance on those cards.
In many cases they get forgotten about until the expiration date passes and then when people try to use them they find out they are invalid. Officials warn if you're giving gift cards to make sure the person actually shop there.
Source: 24/7 News Source