If you're still trying to find the perfect gift, you may not have to look any farther than a little piece of plastic. Gift cards are growing in popularity - so much that the National Retail Federation estimates this holiday season card sales will be worth billions.

Shopping season is in full swing, and we're 11 days away from Christmas and that means last minute buyers are out in full force.

This year, believe it or not, some of the most sought presents are gift cards. They're easy to buy, and people are guaranteed to get what they want. But they aren't just convenient for consumers - they make life pretty good for businesses, too.

"It guarantees us sales in the long run," said Andy Jory, manager at Target in New Hartford. "Not only are we going to have sales today, we're going to have sales when the guest spends that gift card here at the store at a later date."

"Gift cards are a great source of income for the businesses, especially in January," said Christian Faustmann, general manager at Best Buy in New Hartford. "February time when everyone is coming in to redeem their presents."

The National Retail Federation estimates, people will spend more than $26 billion on gift cards this holiday season. That's up almost $2 billion from last year.

80% of people say they'll buy at least one gift card this year. The average spent on gift cards - $160.

And that all evens out to an average of $42 per card. And as gift card sales are going up, holiday returns are going down. Nearly 65% of people say they kept everything they got last year.