Top 10 gift cards powering incentive programs in 2024
A gift card incentive program can motivate employees to achieve ambitious goals. They’re also proven to help companies attract and retain customers.
In our own experiment, we found that offering gift cards to prospects who book sales demos doubles response rates and decreases cost per lead by 81%.
Sending out gift cards as part of incentive program is also an effective way to promote employee engagement and reduce turnover: one study found gift cards increase performance even more than cash.
But what gift cards do employees and customers prefer? There are virtually thousands of options, and it’s difficult to pick one retailer that will satisfy the vast majority of people.
In this article, we’ll identify the 10 most popular gift card options in 2024 based on search volume.
Table of contents
The basics of gift cards
Gift cards remain one of the most popular gift ideas around the globe, with the market expected to rise to a value of $510 billion by 2025.
They're a favored alternative to cash, with the ability to cater to an individual's specific interest.
Types of gift cards
Gift cards fall into two formats:
Open-loop: Open-loop cards can be used at any retailer (as opposed to only a specific, predefined retailer). Prepaid cards like Visa® or Mastercard®, which are accepted at a wide variety of locations, are among the most popular options. Prepaid cards provide the recipient the freedom of choice. Though they may be inclined to spend the money on necessities rather than on splurges.
Closed-loop: By contrast, closed-loop gift cards are limited to specific retailers, like Starbucks or Target, to name two favored picks. Gift cards an be more personal, especially if coupled with a thoughtful note. In the same vein, closed-loop cards often require knowledge of an individual's needs, wants or preferences.
Physical gift cards versus e-gift cards
When establishing a program that rewards gift cards, you have a choice to make:
Physical cards or digital cards?
The popularity of physical gift cards has crashed alongside physical money. In our society's seemingly unstoppable shift to all-digital-everything, the benefits of digital gift cards certainly outweigh those of physical cards.
| Digital gift cards | Physical gift cards | |
|---|---|---|
| Ordering and inventory | Order individually, in bulk or automatically by API; no inventory | Bulk shipments provide the best economics for high-quantity orders; must manage and track inventory |
| Delivery time | Instantaneous | Days or weeks by snail mail |
| Cost | 1. Face-value cost of the card 2. Some providers chard fees (Tremendous has no fees.) 3. High volume purchases can often receive discounts | 1. Cost of the card 2. Postage fees 3. Manual labor overhead |
| Security | Tracking is much better, allowing for better customer support in the event of theft or fraud | Cards could get stolen by mail, or lost by the recipient; hard to track fraud |
| User experience | Add the card to your digital wallet; use it in store or online | Recipients must carry and keep track of the physical card |
Pros and cons of gift card incentives
When building gift cards into your incentive programs, it’s important to understand the nuances of offering cards.
Pros
You empower recipients to buy products and services that matter to them.
They’re easy to understand, claim and spend.
You can receive discounts when purchasing a high volume of digital cards.
You can connect your program to a gift card provider’s API to automate sending of gift card rewards.
Cons
Some gift cards may require activation fees. Research before buying.
Recipients may find themselves with a small, unusable amount of money left on the card.
Cards can be seen as impersonal. To avoid this, add warmth to the reward by including personalized note to express gratitude.
10 popular gift card categories in 2024
The key to building a successful gift card-based reward and incentive program:
Offer what people want.
To find the best mix of practicality, ease of use, choice and an excuse to splurge, look for options in one of these ten categories:
Alternatives to cash: Prepaid open-loop cards — like Visa, Mastercard and American Express® — offer recipients the most choice. Spend them nearly anywhere, and distribute them without prior knowledge of a recipient’s unique interests.
Multi-store cards: Multi-store or multi-brand cards offer a similar level of choice and convenience, so the recipient can pick what they like.
Electronics: Reward ideas centered on electronics are ideal options for end-of-the-year sales incentives, with Best Buy cards remaining the most favored.
Home improvement: Home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes are a safe bet, offering an extensive range of useful home products and utilities for all kinds of homeowners or renters.
Streaming services: Streaming is the main way people watch shows and movies. Dozens of streaming sites make these kinds of cards useful and appealing.
Transportation: Everyone gets around town somehow, and that can be a costly expenditure. For drivers, gas cards make an appealing corporate reward. Electric vehicle owners might prefer a card covering the cost of recharging. Those with access to public transportation might like a card for their local transportation authority. If that’s too granular of information for your reward and incentive program, a gift card for a ride sharing app, like Uber or Lyft, might be best.
Groceries and consumer staples: Whether the economy is good or bad, there are certain things everyone needs. Helping foot the bill for groceries and other staples could be a huge motivator with ubiquitous appeal.
Food delivery: Sometimes, you just want a pizza or your favorite dumpling place delivered to you. Providing gift cards to food delivery services like Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats offer the right mix of ease and choice that recipients love.
Cards for splurging: Self care and retail therapy are how many people decompress and relax from the natural stressors of life. But spas, massages and the finer things in life can be expensive. Offering gift cards that help fund these activities might just associate your brand with their happier, healthier life.
Gift cards that give back: Some gift cards are designed to donate a percentage to charities like Feeding America or Habitat for Humanity. If your business is committed to making a positive community impact, this could be a great, on-brand way to say “thanks” while making a difference.
10 most popular gift cards in 2024
The following are the most popular gift cards of the year, using monthly search volume as a proxy for interest.
Visa gift card
Visa gift cards are the top-searched and most popular gift card option, and it’s easy to see why. Recipients can buy just about anything with a Visa gift card, and it’s almost as flexible as cash.
They’re accepted by most retailers, and recipients perceive them as being just about as valuable as cash.
Unlike store-specific gift cards, Visa gift cards can be used at any location that accepts Visa. This includes millions of merchants worldwide, both online and in-store. This flexibility ensures that recipients can use their gift card in a way that best suits their needs and preferences.
Because they can be used just about anywhere, Visa gift cards also have near-universal appeal. Specific retailers tend to cater to one or a few demographics over others. But Visa gift cards are appealing to everyone from young professionals to retirees.
Amazon gift card
You can find almost anything on Amazon. The retailer’s extensive product range makes them a close second to Visa.
Amazon, of course, is the largest online retailer with millions of products across various categories, from electronics and books to clothing and home goods. Recipients can find items that suit their specific tastes and needs.
Another bonus: Amazon gift cards are extremely easy to use. The Amazon site and mobile app is decently user-friendly. Recipients can buy little-known products on Amazon from niche sellers through an easily accessible, inuitive UI.
Target gift card
The third-most popular gift card of the year is Target’s. It certainly doesn’t have as broad a product selection as Amazon or as much flexibility as a Visa prepaid card, but it is the second-most popular department store in the country.
Recipients can use their Target gift card online or in-store. A Target gift card gives people the chance to do some guilt-free shopping, or get their necessities without having to worry about pricetag.
There are Target locations across 1,229 cities across the US, and the retailer has a store in every state. Plus, Target has everything from groceries to home decor to makeup and cleaning supplies. There’s truly something for everyone.
Starbucks gift card
Fourth on the list: Starbucks. It’s the largest and most popular coffee chain in the country. Moreover, it’s a bit more expensive than rivaling chains Dunkin’ and Tim Horton’s. People feel less guilty splurging on a $6 latte if they know they’re paying with a gift card.
Another reason it’s so popular is because coffee is, for most people, a daily necessity. So if someone receives a Starbucks gift card, they’re highly likely to actually use it.
Starbucks gift cards are also equally convenient in digital and physical form. The coffee chain has a popular mobile app and more than 35,000 locations worldwide. There’s one on every corner in major cities, and chances are, your recipients pass one on their way to work.
Disney gift card
Perhaps surprisingly, Disney gift cards are fifth on our list. Recipients can use them to buy Disney merchandise online, put them toward theme park tickets or resort stays, or spend them on dining experiences at Disney locations.
A word of caution: while these gift cards are extremely popular, they are limiting and not for everyone. Unless you’re specifically targeting families with young children, you may want to skip this one.
It likely makes more sense to offer recipients a Visa prepaid card, because Disney accepts Visa prepaid cards at all theme park and resort locations. And if some recipients don’t have a Disney vacation on the docket this year, they can still get plenty of use out of their gift.
Sephora gift card
While Sephora gift cards aren’t a universal crowd pleaser, they’re by far the most popular cosmetic gift card of the year. Sephora carries 340 different brands and 45,000 products, from Chanel to Glossier.
One reason Sephora gift cards are so popular is because makeup and cosmetics are seen as hedonic vs. utilitarian. In other words, people buy luxury beauty products for pleasure rather than necessity.
Making hedonic purchases are more strongly associated with feelings of arousal and excitement. However, hedonic purchases can also make us feel guilty. Fortunately, if someone purchases hedonic goods with a gift card, which feels like free money, they can splurge without experiencing the negative aftermath that typically follows impulse purchases.
American Express gift card
The appeal of an American Express gift card is identical to that of a Visa gift card – they can be used just about anywhere to buy just about anything. Like Visa prepaid cards, they function like debit cards and are accepted by millions of retailers.
eBay gift card
eBay gift cards are like Amazon gift cards for people who love thrifting. eBay is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, where shoppers can find anything from electronics and fashion to rare collectibles and vintage furniture.
With an eBay gift card, recipients can purchase new, used, or rare items. And because eBay offers so many used goods in often great condition, they’re appealing to recipients who want a bang for their buck.
iTunes gift card
iTunes gift cards may seem outdated, but they’re still just as useful in 2024 as they were in the days before Spotify. Beyond just using them to buy music, recipients can redeem them for Apple TV+ subscriptions, apps, games, Apple News+ subscriptions, or more space on iCloud.
iTunes gift cards are for much more than music. They give you access to an extensive content library that includes movies, TV shows, audiobooks, and more.
iPhones are the most popular phone in the US by a wide margin, with a whopping 55% marketshare. The chances are good your recipients either have an iPhone or a TV that can stream Apple TV+.
Chick-fil-A gift card
Chick-fil-A is the third-most popular fast food chain in the country, behind only McDonalds and Starbucks. Its popularity has exploded in recent years, and the chain has doubled its total sales volume since 2018. While Chick-fil-A started as a regional chain in the southern U.S., locations are cropping up everywhere from Massachusetts to Iowa.
Like Sephora, Chick-fil-A gift cards are especially appealing to recipients because they allow for guilt-free hedonic purchases. No one feels great about spending $25 on fast food, but it stings a lot less if you know you received the money as a gift.
How business use gift cards as rewards and incentives
Gift cards can be a powerful business tool when coupled with clever strategies.
There are many use cases for leveraging gift cards to achieve business goals. Below, we’ll break them down in three categories.
Marketing incentives
The options for marketing with gift card programs are vast.
You can offer gift card incentivizes to customers who leave a review or refer new clients or for big purchase.
Or, you can build a gift card loyalty program to better retain customers. For instance, customers can earn a certain amount of points with each purchase, adding up to a free item down the line.
Marketing incentive programs could include:
Sales lead generation programs
Customer acquisition programs
Customer loyalty programs
Customer advocacy programs
Event attendance and monetization programs
Partner and vendor incentive programs
Research incentives
Many companies conduct research of some kind. That could mean surveying employees, conducting user research for a new product or running a dedicated market research department.
A common way to incorporate rewards into research is to compensate participants for their time — for completing a survey, interview or some other task.
Research incentive programs could include:
Employee (or customer) surveys
Market research
Clinical research
University research
User experience (UX) research
Employee incentives
How do you maximize employee output and wellbeing?
By aligning employee interests with business goals.
One way to do that is through employee reward and incentive programs, which can be used in various way to both encourage behavior or reward it after the fact.
Employee incentive programs include:
Employee recruiting and referral programs
Employee reward and recognition programs
Sales incentive programs
Employee safety programs
Continuing education programs
How to evaluate what gift card is best for your employees or customers
While the above are the most popular gift cards by search volume, ultimately, individual preferences are fickle and unique. Everybody is different, and there’s no way to accurately paint your entire workforce or customerbase with a broad brush.
Consider the following before making a selection:
Employee or customer preferences: Consider the attributes of your target demographic. Are your customers largely young professionals, suburban women, men with young children, etc? If you’re sending gifts for employee recognition, do your employees commute to an office everyday and pass the same coffee shop, or are they distributed around the country or around the world? If you’re targeting a specific demographic, it may be easier to pick a single gift card that will appeal to most. However, if you have a broad customerbase or distributed employees, it may make more sense to let them choose their own gift card.
Personalization: Think about how much or how little you’d like to personalize the gift. In our own research, we found recipients don’t care much whether a gift was picked out specifically for them. Rather, 85% would be satisfied with a personal message or note along with the gift.
Inclusivity: Make sure to gift something anyone can use – no matter where in the world they are. With Tremendous, you can send gift cards to recipients in more than 200 countries.
Budget: Again, you don’t need to break the bank to send the right work anniversary gift. Between $50-$100 should satisfy most employees.
Let recipients choose their own gift card
Rather than trying to pick one gift that suits all, let recipients choose the gift they want most with Tremendous. Tremendous offers more than 2,000 reward options in over 200 countries, including everything from direct deposit and Venmo payouts to DoorDash and Amazon gift cards.
Plus, it’s totally free. Only spend what you send.
Sign up now and send your first incentive in minutes, or chat with our sales team.
FAQs about incentive programs
What is the best gift card to give employees, customers, or research participants?
Visa gift cards are the most popular gift cards based on search volume, and in our own research we’ve found people value Visa prepaid cards about as much as they value cash. It makes sense – recipients can use Visa gift cards just about anywhere to buy almost anything. While Visa prepaid cards are a safe bet, the best option is to let recipients choose their own reward. With Tremendous, businesses can offer recipients the choice of prepaid cards, money transfers, and 2,000+ gift card options.
What is an appropriate gift card amount for employees, customers, or research participants?
For employees, anywhere between $50-$100 will satisfy the vast majority of people. When it comes to incentivizing customers and research participants, ideal amounts will vary based on each person’s profession and the purpose of the reward or incentive.
Are gift cards good gifts for employees, customers, or research participants?
By and large, people prefer prepaid cards over gift cards. However, gift cards can be a great option when you give recipients the option to choose their own gift card. Using an incentives and rewards platform (like Tremendous!) makes it easy to give recipients the option to choose between 2,000+ gift cards.
Can gift cards be sent virtually?
Yes. With Tremendous, businesses can send gift cards via SMS, email, or bulk link export.
Can I give my employees, customers, and research participants gift cards without being taxed?
Yes. You can send gift cards tax-free, as long as the total amount you send is below the $600 threshold. More information on whether gift cards are taxable here.
