Gift Cards Spark Sales Uptick Ahead of Bankruptcy

During the 2017 holiday season Toys “R” Us experienced an uptick in sales in response to widespread news of the chain’s chapter 11 filing in September of the same year. Anxious consumers rushed to stores to redeem the value of gift cards that would soon otherwise be worthless. According to the article the company claimed that “Christmas came a bit early” that year, but the reality is that the “best gift cards [from the retailer’s perspective] are those that go unspent.”