Starbucks Gift-Card Sales Jump as Shoppers Seek Safe Bet
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Starbucks Corp. sold about 16 percent more gift cards in the U.S. during the 2014 holiday season as shoppers increasingly defaulted to the fail-safe option of treating their loved ones to lattes and Frappuccinos.
About 37 million gift cards were sold during the holiday season this year, up from about 32 million last year, the Seattle-based company said in an e-mail. More than $1.1 billion was loaded onto Starbucks gift cards between Nov. 3 and Dec. 25 in the U.S. and Canada, where a combined 40 million cards were sold, Starbucks said.