With Christmas nearing, Joshua Gilbert of Ada took the easy route shopping for his large family. Â Most of the people on Gilbert's list, including his sisters Jessica, Heather and Lydia, received gift cards. Â
"I usually like picking them out a gift each. Â Just ran out of time," said Gilbert.
The Gilbert family was part of a crowd at the Lima Mall, spending the afternoon searching for deals, returning unwanted items and using newly received gift cards.Â
According to the National Retail Federation 62 percent of shoppers said they would like getting a gift card over the holidays-- which makes gift cards the most wanted item this year. Â
Another NRF survey expected the average person to spend more than $170 on gift cards this Christmas. Â Total gift card sales were expected to exceed $31 billion. Â
The popularity of gift cards has soared the last few years. Â Total spending on gift cards has increased 83 percent since the NRF began tracking shoppers plans to buy gift cards for the holiday 11 years ago. Â
