Auriemma surveyed 439 consumers online in September

The percentage of people planning to buy network-branded gift cards rose to 30% this Tiffany 1837 Hoop earrings from 27% in 2007 and from 21% in 2005, according to the Auriemma report. "Store-specific gift cards still have the lion's share of the market, but some consumers are not purchasing them because they are afraid of stores going bankrupt," said Nancy Stahl, the senior editor of Auriemma's "Cardbeat" reports.

A larger survey, by the National Retail Federation, contradicts those findings, concluding that the struggling economy will prompt consumers to load less funds on to gift card accounts - an average of $39.80, compared with $40.54 in 2008. For its survey, the federation polled 8,692 U.S. adults in November.

TowerGroup Inc. also expects consumer spending on merchant private-label gift cards to decrease 7% this year, but the research firm said spending on network-branded cards should increase 3%.

Despite these reports, Daniel Horne, an associate professor of marketing at Providence College in Tiffany 1837 Hoop Earrings Island, agrees with Contardi that overall gift card sales this holiday season could increase, including network-branded cards.

"The driving force"for increased gift card sales"will be the lean inventories consumers will face at stores," Horne said. Retailers were "burned last year because of the economy and had to dump inventory" by dramatically dropping prices, he said.

The economy also is a factor, said Horne, who said he also expects sales of network-branded, open-loop cards to grow this year. "People are using the open-loop gift card and viewing it as a thoughtful gift because it's allowing [recipients] to live better," he said. "If you're about Paloma Picasso Loving Heart bracelet get your lights shut off, receiving cash"or an open-loop card"is as thoughtful as it gets."

Will Hernandez is the associate editor of ATM&Debit News.