All Star Incentive Marketing’s February 2024 review of the IRF Trends Report emphasized quality merchandise, budget pressures, recognition and possible uses of AI. The original studies behind that synthesis measure different things: reported program spending, merchandise use, employee preferences and professionals’ expectations. Their results give the company’s planning advice a firmer context when those distinctions remain clear. All Star review IRF Trends Report
Higher nominal spending does not establish greater purchasing power
The underlying Industry Outlook reported North American average per-person non-cash reward spending of $1,060 in 2022 and $1,090 in 2023. The small nominal increase supports All Star’s point that a larger budget can be needed simply to maintain a program. The study does not supply a program-specific price index, so it cannot quantify the change in real purchasing power. All Star review IRF Outlook report
Reported North American reward spending changed modestly
Published average per-person spending on non-cash reward and recognition programs.
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Reported spending rather than a 2024 forecast. October 2023 fieldwork covered 193 North American professionals; prior-year results came from the earlier survey. Samples were unweighted and their stakeholder mix changed. The averages are not a matched panel, an inflation-adjusted series or gift-card-only spending.
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| Category | Average per-person reward spend |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 1,060 USD |
| 2023 | 1,090 USD |
The October 2023 Outlook surveyed 402 professionals overall, including 209 in six European countries. Participants had responsibility for incentive programs and spending knowledge; recruitment combined an independent panel and industry volunteers. These are professional survey reports, not audited industry sales totals. IRF Outlook report IRF methods
Branded merchandise was common, but usage is not proof of impact
All Star described recognizable brands and useful tangible gifts as reminders of achievement. The underlying survey shows that logoed brand-name merchandise appeared in 65% of North American respondents’ programs, alongside electronics at 64%, apparel at 63% and food gifts at 61%. European respondents reported a different mix. All Star review IRF Outlook report
Merchandise categories used in surveyed programs
Share reporting use of each category in the October 2023 survey; multiple selections allowed.
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Regional survey samples were 193 and 209; a separate question-level base is not printed on this report page. Respondents could use several categories, so percentages are not market shares and do not sum to 100%. Use does not establish quality, recipient preference, productivity or All Star revenue.
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| Category | North America | Europe |
|---|---|---|
| Logoed brand-name merchandise | 65% | 48% |
| Electronics | 64% | 54% |
| Clothing and apparel | 63% | 36% |
| Food gifts | 61% | 61% |
The figures explain why merchandise featured in the review. They do not test the company’s claims that a particular item creates a lasting memory or strengthens organizational identity. Those remain propositions about program design, to be judged separately from category prevalence. All Star review IRF Outlook report
Recognition preferences overlap across career stages
All Star also discussed smaller, more frequent awards and younger employees’ interest in authentic recognition. The separate IRF worker survey cited by the Trends Report offers a useful qualification: quiet, one-to-one recognition was selected at very similar rates across early, middle and late career groups. Preferences varied within each group. All Star review IRF Trends Report IRF worker survey
Quiet recognition appealed across age groups
Selected forms of recognition respondents said they would be most receptive to in the 2023 IRF study.
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Stated preferences, not observed retention or a test of recognition frequency. Appendix A lists 230, 499 and 205 respondents in the three groups, which sum to 934, while the overall sample is stated as 939; the report does not reconcile the difference. Other recognition forms are omitted here. Exact fieldwork dates and a weighting method are not disclosed in the report.
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| Category | Quiet, one-to-one recognition | All-hands awards ceremony |
|---|---|---|
| Ages 18–30 | 34% | 19% |
| Ages 31–50 | 35% | 20% |
| Ages 51+ | 33% | 22% |
The report groups workers by age and career stage and cautions against using generational labels to predict an individual’s motivation. This supports giving attention to recipient preference; it does not establish that every younger employee wants the same reward or delivery style. IRF worker survey
AI was an opportunity accompanied by uncertainty
The review presented AI as a possible tool for personalizing merchandise and travel. In the 2023 Incentive Travel Index, 31% agreed that ChatGPT and other AI would significantly disrupt incentive travel marketing and communications, 45% were unsure and 24% disagreed. The question was about the future, rather than whether respondents were already using AI. All Star review IRF Trends Report Incentive Travel Index
Views on AI disruption were mixed in 2023
Responses to the statement that AI would significantly disrupt incentive travel marketing and communications.
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Source
Question base n = 1,769 industry respondents; online fieldwork May–July 2023. The wider survey included 2,464 respondents across 83 countries and both buyers and sellers. These are expectations about marketing and communications, not measured AI adoption, efficiency, personalization quality or gift-card sales.
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| Category | Share of respondents |
|---|---|
| Agree | 31% |
| Unsure | 45% |
| Disagree | 24% |
All Star’s suggestion therefore fits an emerging planning discussion, while the underlying survey shows substantial uncertainty. Neither source demonstrates that AI-generated reward recommendations improved outcomes. Budget fit, recipient choice and the experience of receiving recognition remain distinct questions for program owners. All Star review Incentive Travel Index
In this article
Maya Bennett
Maya Bennett covers customer loyalty, employee rewards and incentive programmes for Gift Card News.