News

Study: Consumers love rewards, incentives

September 21, 2016

A research effort on consumer wants and needs reveals consumers love a personalized incentive, which also increases brand loyalty. Consumers also love virtual gift cards, according to the research.

The data insight comes from Virtual Incentives and its "Incentive Research Paper," which focuses on how incentives impact brand perceptions and influence factions, such as age and income level.

The study notes a consumer's education and income is tied to incentive program interest. More educated and higher-income consumers are more likely to participate in and respond to incentives, according to the research.

"The information we gathered for this study is vital in helping brands make informed decisions when it comes to incentivizing their target audiences. After all, we want the reward or incentive moment to truly resonate and create an engaging moment with the recipient—that means we need to be educated on what different consumer groups are really looking for when it comes to incentives," stated Jonathan Price, CEO of Virtual Incentives, in an announcement.

Early data insights also include the following:

• Brand perception, general: Fifty-six percent said receiving a personalized incentive would improve consideration of the brand.
• Brand perception, specific: While the vast majority indicated that use of personalization made a brand seem smart, unique and caring, a meaningful minority of 16 percent find it "creepy."
• Trust: Most respondents felt a personalized incentive made them feel respected as a customer, while one in four feel it is a violation of their privacy.
• Type of personalization: Sixty-three percent prefer a reward based on purchase history, rather than the less popular reference to a purchase location (24 percent) or use of name (23 percent).