BENTONVILLE, Ark.––Many shoppers on Walmart.com over the holidays found an extra item slipped into orders: an empty Walmart gift card.
The idea is the card could then be loaded with any amount desired online and then given as a last-minute gift.
"Unloaded gift cards are another way that we can make gift gifting easier for our customers," a Walmart spokesperson told Business Insider.
For customers who don't want them, the gift cards are simply worthless pieces of plastic that can be thrown away, Business Insider reported. Walmart did the same thing for some holiday orders last year.
“Gift cards are, of course, a top gift for the holidays every year, and they are probably the best thing you can do as a last-minute gesture,” noted Business Insider. “By offering this added convenience to customers, Walmart is making it that much more likely that customers will spend just a little more with the retailer this year. There's also the advantage of it being a physical card, which is easier to give as a gift. Even if customers don't take advantage of it, the cards are relatively cheap to create, so Walmart doesn't lose much.”