Parks Associates: More than 50% of Consumers Find Noncash Rewards Programs Appealing

Parks Associates and GiftCard Partners examine noncash incentives to drive smart product adoption in industry webcast

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Jun 18, 2018, 08:05 ET

DALLAS, June 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates research reveals more than 50% of U.S. broadband households with mobile service find noncash rewards programs, such as gift cards, appealing and that using noncash incentives can boost NPS scores for service providers by 15-30 points. Parks Associates and GiftCard Partners will co-host the complimentary industry webcast "Incentives and the Connected Consumer: Rewarding Smart Home Adoption" on Tuesday, June 19, at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET). The webcast, sponsored by The Home Depot and powered by GiftCard Partners, will examine how noncash incentives can drive smart product adoption and interest in smart home services.

"Many energy service providers, including Reliant, Constellation, and Clean Choice Energy, have successfully integrated gift cards into their incentive programs to encourage new customers and promote loyalty," said Denise Ernst, Senior Analyst, Parks Associates. "Almost all IoT players are trialing common customer engagement tools such as discounts, BOGO, and free merchandise, but today's connected consumers respond to offers that are flexible and self-empowering, making gift cards particularly appealing."

The industry webcast will address ways that noncash incentives such as gift cards can drive smart product adoption, service participation, revenues, and consumer behavior and loyalty. The webcast will also assess the best strategies to use that create flexible, personalized experiences to drive specific sales and brand goals.

"For over a decade, GiftCard Partners has helped companies use gift cards to achieve engagement, customer acquisition, and loyalty," said Deb Merkin, CEO & Founder, GiftCard Partners. "Gift cards are used in over 60% of reward and recognition programs. They are easy to implement, provide high trophy value, and they get results."

Joining Ernst and Merkin on the webcast are the following speakers:

Nathan Bauer-Spector, Customer Programs Advisor II, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE)
Shoshana Pena, Customer Programs Advisor II, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDGE)

According to Parks Associates research, 26% of U.S. broadband households own a smart home device, up from 17% in 2015.

"One key factor inhibiting smart home adoption is cost perception—41% of households that do not own smart home devices feel they are too expensive," Ernst said. "Gift cards can help overcome inhibitors such as price sensitivity. Purchase intentions for smart home devices among non-owners are increasing, from 17% in 2014 to 36% in 2018, and gift cards can help turn these intentions into reality."

For information and to register for the webcast, visit www.parksassociates.com/incentives-june2018. To speak with an analyst about this research, contact Julia Homier at [email protected], 972-996-0214.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes digital media and platforms, entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, support services, consumer apps, advanced advertising, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security.

Each year, Parks Associates hosts industry webcasts, the CONNECTIONS™ Conference Series, Connected Health Summit: Engaging Consumers, and Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer. http://www.parksassociates.com

Contact:
Julia Homier
Parks Associates
972.996.0214
[email protected]

SOURCE Parks Associates