Chicken or Steak; Obama or Romney; Comedy or Drama; Yankees or Red Sox; Gift Cards or Cash? We may not have all the answers, but according to Incentive’s “2012 Gift Card IQ” survey, gift cards trumps cash.
The use of gift cards in the incentive industry grew from 27.8 percent last year to 36.7 percent in 2012. Not only are companies using gift cards as a way to recognize or reward employees during the holiday season but the survey shows that they are increasing the frequency of which they use gift cards throughout the year and the amount spent on them. The survey seems to be holding steady states Incentive Magazines Leo Jackson, “…the best word to describe the results of Incentive’s “2012 Gift Card IQ” survey, compared to the 2011 version, is stability. By and large, this year’s results were within a couple percentage points of last year’s in virtually every category.”
It looks like gift cards are on the rise while cash rewards could become a thing of the past. Some interesting findings from the survey include:
- 59.8 percent of respondents claimed that their budget for all incentive/recognition/reward programs has stayed the same as in 2011.
- 49.3 percent have a budget of less than $25,000 for their 2012 incentive/recognition/rewards programs.
- 79.3 percent use gift certificates/gift cards in their 2012 incentive/recognition/rewards programs.
Buying gift cards in bulk can also save you money. With that belt around your budget not getting any looser, this holiday season could be the perfect time to take advantage of using gift cards as the solution to your company’s incentive, reward, or recognition programs.
Click here to learn more about the 2012 Gift Card IQ survey by Incentive Magazine.
