Apple Follows The Times And Will Offer Free Gift Cards Rather Than Discounts On Black Friday
ByThe gift card has gradually become a more popular present for the holidays and projects to reach $130 billion in sales by 2015, according to a CEB TowerGroup. Apple has followed the trend and will include free Apple cash with certain purchases this Friday, The Verge reported.
Free gift cards, however, mean everything else in the store on Black Friday will remain at sticker price.
Australia's online Apple store has already offered such deals, which will be available in the U.S. both online and in retail stores starting Friday, The Verge reported.
For now, the only deals officially available are those from Apple Australia. Purchasing a MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or iMac, gives Australian customers a $150 AUD ($137 USD) Apple Store gift card, according to the Verge. An iPad Air nets $75 AUD ($68) while the iPad mini, iPad 2, and iPod touch mean $50 AUD ($46) in Apple cash. The iPod nano comes with a $25 ($23) gift card. Apple is also offering smaller gift card packages with "third party products" such as Olloclip, Parrot AR.Drone, the Fitbit Flex, and Beats headphones, according to the Verge.
Depending on need, consider other retailers that will cut Apple prices rather than offering gift cards, the Verge reported.
The rise of the gift card began in 2010 following the 2009 Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, or the Credit CARD Act, according to the Boston Globe. The act protects card buyers and establishes a clearer set of rules.
An eleven-year old survey from the National Retail Federation discovered that 80 percent of shoppers will purchase a gift card this holiday season and spend an average of $163.16 on gift cards - the highest in the poll's history, according to the Globe.
Apple's list of its top gifts this year include the $99 Apple TV, $299 AirPort Time Capsule, and $299 Beats Studio Over Ear Headphones, among others.