Question

In 2014, consumers spent $31 billion on gift cards, 13.9% of which were for coffee shops. If 27% of coffee shop gift cards go

unused, what is the approximate value of these unused cards, in billions of dollars?

Answer 1

To find the value of unused coffee shop gift cards, we multiply 13.9% of the total $31 billion spent on gift cards by 27%, which gives us approximately $1.16 billion.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the approximate value of unused coffee shop gift cards from the total spent on gift cards in 2014, we follow these steps:

1. Calculate the total value spent on coffee shop gift cards by taking 13.9% of the total spending on gift cards: 0.139 × $31 billion.
2. Find the value of unused coffee shop gift cards by taking 27% of the coffee shop gift card value: 0.27 × (0.139 × $31 billion).

Now, let's do the calculations:

1. Value spent on coffee shop gift cards: 0.139 × $31 billion = $4.309 billion.
2. Value of unused coffee shop gift cards: 0.27 × $4.309 billion = $1.16343 billion, which is approximately $1.16 billion.