Gift cards are commonly found in incentive marketplaces, but how effective are they really? In the Incentive Research Foundation’s fall 2019 issue of their quarterly academic review, they reviewed the effectiveness of gift cards in incentive programs. Gift cards are one of the best representations of non-cash Rewards, and carry all of the benefits typically associated with such incentives. Well-designed incentive programs will almost always offer some type of gift card or prepaid card, such as a VISA virtual card, in their reward offerings selection. Every type of incentive rewards provider, whether they be instant win game providers, market research incentive program managers, reward management technology providers, or digital reward providers, will offer and potentially recommend gift cards. As with most incentive programs, gift cards can encourage positive behaviors and better workplace outcomes. When looking at sales incentive program ideas, consumer reward program ideas, or ideas for other types of incentive programs, gift cards will almost always be listed as a recommendation. Gift cards are a fantastic choice for almost any type of incentive program. The IRF quarterly academic review found that people tend to mentally think of gift cards as “fun money”, rather than money that has to be […]

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