Canonical URL: https://giftcard.news/research-trends/researchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202/ --- description: Researchers can learn from marketers to boost respondent engagement by optimizing the respondent experience and providing choice in rewards, such as gift cards or reloadable Visa cards. title: Virtual Incentives: Research Participant Engagement and Gift Card Rewards image: https://giftcard.news/images/social/v1/virtual-incentives-research-participant-engagement-gift-card-rewards-ac9fe4b98bfb6a53111f6cb629c3f83a.jpg --- 1. [Home](https://giftcard.news/) 2. [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) 3. Virtual Incentives: Research Participant Engagement and Gift Card Rewards [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) News # Virtual Incentives: Research Participant Engagement and Gift Card Rewards Researchers can learn from marketers to boost respondent engagement by optimizing the respondent experience and providing choice in rewards, such as gift cards or reloadable… By [Maya Bennett](https://giftcard.news/author/maya-bennett/) Published: November 4, 2021 at 03:41 PM 1 min read Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fresearchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Research%20Participant%20Engagement%20and%20Gift%20Card%20Rewards "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fresearchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Research%20Participant%20Engagement%20and%20Gift%20Card%20Rewards%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fresearchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![What Researchers Can Learn from Marketers to Boost Respondent Engagement](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/virtual-incentives-research-participant-engagement-gift-card-rewards-what-researchers-can-learn-w1108.webp) Photo: Source: virtualincentives.com [Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/) recommends borrowing engagement techniques from consumer marketing to improve the research participant experience. In a November 2021 article, the company identifies social connection, enjoyable interactions and rewards as complementary elements of that approach. The provider argues that financial incentives should offer choices because respondents do not all value the same payment method. It gives retailer gift cards, cash-like rewards and reloadable [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/) cards as examples that may suit different participants. The article also raises a longer-term idea: allowing a person to combine rewards earned through surveys, focus groups and other research providers in one account. Virtual Incentives presents this as a question for future design, rather than announcing such a service. Beyond payment, the company discusses social features in research panels and game-like interactions that could encourage people to return. It argues that stronger engagement may reduce respondent churn and improve the attention given to research tasks. Virtual Incentives’ recommendation is to examine the full participant journey while maintaining the research objective. Choice of reward is presented as one part of that experience, alongside recruitment, communication and retention. ## Sources and documents ExpandCollapse * [What Researchers Can Learn from Marketers to Boost Respondent Engagement](https://www.virtualincentives.com/what-researchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement/?utm%5Fsource=giftcard.news) — virtualincentives.com ## In this article ### Companies * [Virtual Incentives](https://giftcard.news/company/virtual-incentives/) * [Visa](https://giftcard.news/company/visa/) Share [ ](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fresearchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dx%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial&text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Research%20Participant%20Engagement%20and%20Gift%20Card%20Rewards "X") [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fresearchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dlinkedin%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "LinkedIn") [ ](https://wa.me/?text=Virtual%20Incentives%3A%20Research%20Participant%20Engagement%20and%20Gift%20Card%20Rewards%20https%3A%2F%2Fgiftcard.news%2Fresearch-trends%2Fresearchers-can-learn-from-marketers-to-boost-respondent-engagement-with-82087136b202%2F%3Futm%5Fsource%3Dwhatsapp%26utm%5Fmedium%3Dsocial "WhatsApp") ![Portrait of Maya Bennett](https://giftcard.news/images/variants/v1/maya-bennett-editorial-portrait-w320.webp) About the author ## [Maya Bennett](https://giftcard.news/author/maya-bennett/) Journalist — Rewards & Loyalty Maya Bennett covers customer loyalty, employee rewards and incentive programmes for Gift Card News. From reading to building ## Your next move in gift cards. Tell us what you’re building. We’ll help you explore suitable providers. [Find a provider ](https://giftcard.news/find-a-provider/) ## Related articles [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [AI Can Shop for You. Can It Spend Your Gift Cards?](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/ai-can-shop-for-you-can-it-spend-your-gift-cards/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 17 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Gift Card Fraud in the United States](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/gift-card-fraud-in-the-united-states/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 66 min [Research & Trends](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/) Analysis ### [Can You Cash Out Your Gift Card? A State-by-State Guide](https://giftcard.news/research-trends/can-you-cash-out-your-gift-card-state-by-state-guide/) [Oliver Reed](https://giftcard.news/author/oliver-reed/) September 17, 2026 79 min ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://giftcard.news/#publisher","name":"Gift Card News","url":"https://giftcard.news/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://giftcard.news/brand/giftcard-news-logo.svg"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://giftcard.news/author/maya-bennett/#person","name":"Maya Bennett","url":"https://giftcard.news/author/maya-bennett/","description":"Maya Bennett covers customer loyalty, employee rewards and incentive programmes for Gift Card News.","jobTitle":"Journalist — Rewards & 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