GiftCard Partners Blog

When it comes to millennials and technology e-gift cards are growing in popularity. A recent article from Loyalty360 discussed how millennials prefer e-gift cards to their plastic counterparts. 14 percent of millennials have given or received an e-gift card in the past year compared to only 7 percent of 30-49-year-olds and about 8 percent of 50-64-year-olds who have given or received an e-gift card. So why do millennials prefer e-gift cards? While not specifically asked if they preferred e-gift cards over plastic, millennials did offer a hint; millennials are twice as likely to have lost a gift card before they could spend the entire balance. About 40 percent of millennials have admitted to losing a gift card. E-gift cards are appealing to those who worry about losing cash. They are harder to lose since they exist in your email as opposed to a physical piece of plastic that may never make it into your wallet and are easier to track. E-gift cards also save time on the part of the 'gifter' as they can be purchased with just a few clicks from your computer, tablet, and mobile device from anywhere at any time. Many retailers can scan and redeem e-gift cards directly from your mobile device, some retailers even offer rewards programs for doing so. Electronic gift cards are growing more common for retailers. 59 percent of gift cards are available electronically, up from 41 percent back in 2010. It's also good to know that most retailers will also accept electronic gift cards (as well as plastic) online, great for the online shopper to complete their whole transaction seamlessly online without having to open their wallets. While for some, e-gift cards may seem like an impersonal gift, many retailers are combating that by offering personalization to electronic gift cards. Multiple designs,  personal photos, and videos can all be uploaded directly to the e-gift card to really improve the buying and giving experience. Here's what the Washington Post had to say on, "Why millennials prefer electronic gift cards."

Small business incentive programs are growing rapidly. According to a recent article from Incentive Magazine, research conducted by the Incentive Federation revealed that a substantial amount of small businesses are now using rewards and recognition programs. The study asked businesses with at least $1 million in annual revenue about their goals, programs, awards they use, and how they measure whether or not their incentives are successful.  Most of the smaller firms that responded to the survey spend less than $50K annually on sales incentive programs, whereas firms with revenue of over $10 million spend significantly more annually on their incentive programs. When it comes to the type of reward, electronics came in as the most requested merchandise reward, followed by food and beverage and apparel. Other popular choices were sporting goods, luggage, watches, and home decor.  

Ever wondered what employee rewards your staff really want? While you know they may appreciate the sentiment of the reward, and even find the rewards fun, have you ever wondered, if they could pick anything, what the general employee response would be? In a recent study done by The Voucher Shop these hard-to-come-by desires are revealed. Even though these are results from across the pond, there's a lot to be gleaned applicable for American employees and households as well. Here are the top categories employees want to see in rewards from their employers:

According to a new survey from the Retail Gift Card Association, up to 70% of consumers will buy gift cards for friends and family by the end of the summer. This is an important finding for B2B gift card programs as well. Why's that? Because the survey also revealed that 95% of consumers are hoping to
receive gift cards this spring and summer. While this directly applies to celebrations like birthdays, graduations and weddings, the popularity of gift cards can also segue to employees recognition programs, health and wellness programs and employees rewards. Here are key findings from the study:

Employees who engage with wellness programs earlier respond more favorably and are healthier in the long term than employees who engage with wellness programs later. Biometric screenings provide gateway to early engagement, and provide an important opportunity to use incentives as carrot rewards for plan participation and healthier readings. Of the participants who received program incentives before their screenings,