The closer you get to Christmas, there's this mentality on the part of consumers where they're willing to go out just a little bit more to get the even bigger discounts.

Customers are being just as protective with their gift cards as they were with their own money when buying Christmas gifts. The idea of free money is all in the past. They want value or something very special.

More Americans are waiting to the end to shop for Christmas than any other time in the last 10 years. The consumer was never excited about anything that they saw this Christmas.

I would say that the first quarter of next year probably has already been doomed by this episode,

[They] say that they're going to give their child a mutual fund contribution or some kind of gift through a stock investment.

Gift cards are becoming an easier gift to give. Of course, nobody ever returned cash, either.