The Incentive Research Foundation (IRF) launched its annual trends study with ten trends impacting the trajectory of the rewards and recognition industry in 2017. Check out the trends below.
- THE INCREASING DEMAND FOR NON-CASH REWARDS & RECOGNITION
The number of U.S. businesses using non-cash rewards has risen from 26% in 1996 to 84% in 2016. - MASTERING THE CHANGING AND CHALLENGING REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
Almost 60% of respondents in the latest IRF Pulse Study said they agree or strongly agree that government regulations are making it more difficult to design reward and recognition programs. - INCENTIVE TRAVEL MARKET: GROWTH AND CHALLENGES
Nearly 40% of U.S. businesses now use incentive travel to reward and recognize their top performing employees, salespeople, and channel partners. - MERCHANDISE AND GIFT CARD EXPANSION
Merchandise and gift card programs continue to expand in the United States with 60% and 70%, respectively, of all U.S. businesses using these reward types. - SHIFTS IN SAFETY PERCEPTIONS AND MORE FREQUENT DISRUPTIONS
Zika. Terrorism. Hurricanes. Almost 60% of planners have experienced some form of disruption in their events, estimating that almost a quarter of their events have been affected in some way. - THE EMERGING “NEXT LEVEL” OF EXPERIENCE: INDIVIDUALIZED EXPERIENCES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF EMOTION
Tapping emotional engagement through a strategic choice of rewards and incentives is a powerful way for businesses to motivate their stakeholders. - TECHNOLOGY CHANGES
Almost 90% of large businesses report having technology in place to support their incentives and reward programs. Technology trends include a drive toward social, wearable, predictive, and view-altering technologies. - THE EVOLVING DESIGN OF REWARD AND RECOGNITION PROGRAMS
The Incentive Federation measures over 12 different reasons organizations are running employee reward and recognition programs and nine different objectives for sales programs. - INDUSTRY CONSOLIDATION
The incentives and rewards industry continues to consolidate, not only on the supplier side but also among incentive houses and meeting service providers. - GLOBALIZATION
Once thought of as only affecting the incentive travel side of the market, globalization now influences all types of reward and recognition programs – merchandise and gift cards included.
To view or download a copy of the full study, click here.
