TruCentive is arguing that the visible gift card menu should be smaller than the supply network behind it. Its August 24, 2026 commentary suggests roughly six distinct options as a starting point for many domestic programmes, while favouring location-aware catalogue access for international recipients. The numbers are operating suggestions, not universal performance findings. [S01]

A broad supplier selling a narrower first view

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Palo Alto, TruCentive is an incentive-delivery company led by founder and CEO Lori Laub. Its service curates, delivers and tracks rewards and payments for organisations. [S02]

The commercial logic is not to shrink the underlying business to six cards. A broad supplier can offer a small visible selection while retaining more choices behind categories or location rules. The sponsor purchases both access to supply and the work of making it manageable.

For the recipient, those are different benefits. A large catalogue can improve the chance of finding something useful, but browsing it also consumes time. A short menu can reduce that effort, while creating a risk that the sender has excluded the very merchant the recipient would prefer.

Choice is also a presentation decision

TruCentive's MultiSelect product allows a recipient to allocate one delivery across several reward items up to its value. Its SingleSelect mode instead provides one selected reward at the delivery's full value. [S03]

That changes how a fixed incentive can be used. Splitting the amount may make a broader selection practical, particularly when individual products have fixed denominations. It also adds decisions that would not exist in a single-card offer.

The August commentary recommends keeping the first view below 20 choices and treating international availability separately from domestic curation. It explicitly acknowledges that the cited research does not identify one perfect gift-card count for every programme. [S01]

The supplier's gain is in managing complexity

For TruCentive, a configurable selection process gives it a role beyond distributing a predetermined code. The company can serve audiences with different needs through the same delivery infrastructure, potentially keeping more programme types with one provider.

For a sponsor, the potential saving is less manual selection and fewer mismatched rewards. The return still depends on recipients actually claiming usable value, and the publication does not establish a causal increase in programme performance from the proposed menu size.

A poor international selection can remain invisible in a headline claim rate. The same non-claim could reflect an irrelevant reward, a missed message or no interest in the programme. A catalogue design therefore needs to be understood alongside delivery and audience information.

The business decision behind the commentary is about where selection work belongs. TruCentive wants to provide the supply and interface that make choice manageable. The sponsor still has to decide whether a concise menu reflects its audience or merely its own assumptions.