[英语阅读]代金券成热门圣诞礼物

Vouchers top the list of Christmas gifts

据澳大利亚国家零售商协会最近的一项调查显示，曾经被视为缺少心意的代金券正卷土重来，成为圣诞树下最热门的礼物。该协会的执行官表示，原来送代金券，人们都会觉得太没情调，不够浪漫；但是现在却成了很受欢迎的礼物，因为人们可以拿它去买他们真正需要的东西。在热门礼物中，排在代金券后面的是电器和玩具。该协会预计，12月份的零售额有望达到210亿美元，而节后的1月份则可能会有147亿美元的进帐。虽然圣诞节后的消费可能会更加高涨，但是零售商协会成员提醒人们要负责任地消费，量力而为。

Once considered thoughtless gifts, vouchers have made a comeback and are topping the list of presents under the Christmas tree.

Once considered thoughtless gifts, vouchers have made a comeback and are topping the list of presents under the Christmas tree.

A recent survey by the group representing a number of leading retailers including David Jones, Coles and Harvey Norman, showed gift cards were the number one Christmas purchase this year.

“The number one present ... is in fact gift cards and vouchers,” the Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) chief executive Margy Osmond told ABC Television today.

“They used to be considered terribly unromantic but are now considered a great gift because people can go and get exactly what they want from the post-Christmas sales.”

Vouchers were followed by electronics and toys, which many people put on lay-by during the June-July sales, she said.

“People are spending but they’re very cautious about what they’re spending and they want to make sure that they’re getting maximum bang for their buck.”

The association, whose members represent 40 per cent of retail sector employees, say Christmas sales will be ‘‘solid but not spectacular’’.

It expects to see $21 billion worth of sales pass through registers in December and a further $14.7 billion in the January sales.

“There will be some slight growth on spending from last Christmas,” Ms Osmond said.

Retailers are also waiting for the latest three interest rate hikes to flow through the system.

“We will see a lag in that and that’s likely to start showing in the first quarter of 2010.”

The nation’s peak retailing body, with more than 5,000 members, also expects to see stronger sales in the post-Christmas period.

The Australian Retailers Association says $6.77 billion is expected to be spent on goods.

Their figure excludes grocery sales, which are included in the ANRA figures.

ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman says it’s a jump of four per cent on last year.

He also urged consumers to spend responsibly.

“It’s easy for shoppers to be excited and overwhelmed during post-Christmas sales but we are advising consumers to keep their cool when bargain hunting and to spend responsibly and within their limits,” he said in a statement.