Each quarter, our team of industry experts shares key insights from the latest research and publications on gift card and payments trends. Explore the latest developments and see what patterns and shifts the GiftCard Partners team has observed this quarter in the gift card industry.
IRF release 2024 trends report
The Incentive Research Foundation’s 2024 report highlights a major shift in incentive program priorities, driven by the growing presence of Gen Z in the workforce. As employers aim to engage this younger generation, spending on incentive programs is increasing, with a strong focus on technology solutions like the Engage2Reward™ Gift Card Ordering Platform. This shift aligns with Gen Z's preference for frequent, authentic recognition through digital channels. Offering flexible, customizable incentives—such as gift cards—also plays a significant role in fostering loyalty among younger employees, who value incentives that integrate seamlessly with their digital lives.
Gift cards are driving employee productivity and retention
Fiserv completed their annual Gift Card Gauge, their measure of gift card market updates and trends, in late Q3. Findings show that gift cards remain a compelling employee incentive, with 89% of of respondents indicating that receiving a reward or incentive from their employer made them feel like a valued member of the team, and 58% of respondents indicated that a prepaid reward card like a Visa® is their preferred reward. Over half of respondents indicated wanting a mix of annual and performance-based incentives which allows program administrators to diversify how they view utilizing employee rewards to maximize employee productivity, engagement, and retention.
What 183,806 business units and teams have in common? Employee Experience
Gallup is running the longest employee experience study known in the business world. Were you thinking about employee experience in 1998? It’s okay, we weren’t either. The 11-edition study has tracked workplace engagement for over two decades, evaluating engagement through a comprehensive, 12-point metric that captures a range of workplace experiences.
Spanning nearly 25 years and covering feedback from close to 200,000 business units and teams, the latest findings reinforce a consistent trend: highly engaged employees tend to have strong, supportive managers, while less engaged teams often experience weaker management. As a result, top-performing companies in the study experienced 23% higher revenue growth on average than the bottom-performers, proving out the ROI for programs that drive employee engagement.
Quiet quitting is still with us in 2024
With a lot of HR industry buzz focused on return to office mandates and how to prevent “coffee badging,” it’s easy to forget about quiet quitters. They can be working from home, or in the office, but the pandemic era productivity drain is still prevalent in 2024.
The upside? Inc. outlines how there’s still time left this year to minimize quiet quitting in your organization or incorporate strategies to end it in 2025. These include doubling down on building company culture for in-office and remote workers alike, setting clear expectations for every role in the company, and ensuring a clear and achievable employee engagement strategy that includes feedback to management, and structured incentive programs for health and wellness and exceptional performance.
Gift card laws shift to favor the consumer
In both New York and Maryland state legislatures have passed laws to support consumers and affect gift card market trends to minimize fraud. New York passed a law preventing gift card values from expiring, and Maryland passed legislation requiring secure packaging to prevent gift card draining scams, which could have nationwide implications.
In both cases, states are taking action to make gift cards easier to use by ensuring their security and longevity. For companies using gift cards as an employee incentive or reward, these protections make gift cards more reliable, secure and valuable to employees. When employees are granted consumer protections like these, their incentives and rewards are more likely to be used effectively, creating a memorable experience.
Keep your eye on gift card trends
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Access hundreds of renowned gift card brands with the Engage2Reward Gift Card Ordering Platform. With options to send rewards instantly via text or email with customized greetings, the Engage2Reward Platform is the comprehensive solution for any reward or incentive program. Book a demo below to learn more.
Revisit B2B gift card trends from 2024 Q1.
