Incentivefox brought together earlier research on reward preferences and loyalty participation in an article published on April 13, 2022. The roundup draws on findings attributed to CodeBreaker, Hawk Incentives, Parago, the Incentive Research Foundation and other organizations.
A Parago finding cited in the article concerns a choice between a $50 Visa or Mastercard prepaid card and the same value in gift cards as a holiday or year-end reward. Incentivefox reports that 81% preferred the prepaid card, with acceptance across multiple retailers among the reasons respondents valued it.
Mobile access and active membership
The roundup attributes to CodeBreaker a finding that nearly three-quarters of respondents would engage more with loyalty programs if reward information were mobile-friendly. It also cites Hawk Incentives figures showing millennials belonging to an average of 6.5 programs and actively participating in 4.2, compared with 6.2 memberships and 3.9 active programs overall.
Another Hawk Incentives finding discussed the appeal of converting loyalty points into value on a prepaid or gift card. Incentivefox uses the combination of those findings to emphasize redemption choice and access, rather than enrollment totals alone.
The original Hawk release dates the online Leger survey to February 5–15, 2018: 1,500 US adults, including 645 millennials aged 22–37. The averages below distinguish holding a membership from active participation. The overall adult sample includes the millennial group, so these are overlapping populations, not two independent samples.
Loyalty memberships and active participation in 2018
Mean counts reported in the 2018 Hawk Incentives survey conducted by Leger.
programmes per respondent
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Source
US online survey, February 5–15, 2018, N=1,500, including 645 millennials. The adult total includes millennials. Self-reported membership and activity counts are different measures; neither is a retention or redemption rate.
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| Category | Memberships | Active programmes |
|---|---|---|
| Millennials aged 22–37 | 6.5 programmes per respondent | 4.2 programmes per respondent |
| All surveyed adults | 6.2 programmes per respondent | 3.9 programmes per respondent |
Keeping the research periods distinct
The roundup attributes a 70% US gift-card incentive adoption figure to the IRF's 2017 Trends Study. The underlying Incentive Federation report gives 73% for businesses in its defined universe, with annual revenue of at least USD1 million. That report was published in July 2016 from December 2015 fieldwork. The figures are historical and the 70% summary should not be treated as the exact original table result.
The roundup also attributes two findings to Universal Reward Protocol: 77% believed stores that understood their buying behavior could offer more useful loyalty programs, and 57% were willing to share information in exchange for better rewards. Incentivefox’s article assembles these separate studies as considerations for program design.
The original industry study screened 1,392 businesspeople, with 400 programme owners completing the full survey, and weighted results to its revenue-defined US business universe. The chart shows use of each award type, not a division of reward spending. Firms could use several types, and businesses below USD1 million in annual revenue were outside the study scope.
Award types used in the historical industry study
December 2015 fieldwork reported in the July 2016 Incentive Federation study, page 13.
% of in-scope businesses
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Source
US businesses with annual revenue of at least USD1 million; weighted incidence, overlapping categories. Screening N=1,392; 400 qualified programme owners completed the full survey. These are historical adoption estimates, not 2022 figures or measured programme results.
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| Category | Businesses using award type |
|---|---|
| Gift cards | 73 % of in-scope businesses |
| Merchandise or logo items | 60 % of in-scope businesses |
| Award points | 46 % of in-scope businesses |
| Trips or travel | 38 % of in-scope businesses |
In this article
Maya Bennett
Maya Bennett covers customer loyalty, employee rewards and incentive programmes for Gift Card News.