OOD AND BEVERAGE I ELECTRONICS I DESKTOP/OFFICE ACCESSORIES I PLAQUES/TROPHIES
TRUMENTS I BOOKS, MUSIC, MOVIES I WATCHES/CLOCKS I CAMERAS
EATHER GOODS I MEMORABILIA I OUTDOOR/LEISURE EQUIPMENT I TOOLS
ETOP I LUGGAGE I SPORTING GOODS I COMPUTERS I COOKWARE I
I HOME FURNISHINGS I TOYS/GAMES I ELECTRONICS O
SPREADING
THE DOLLARS
Companies are awarding not just salespeople; they are
using merchandise as morale-builders for everyone
By William Ng
Despite a better economic and business climate, demand for incentive merchandise remains
mostly conservative, although there are
a couple of encouraging signs, according to Incentive’s 2012 Merchandise
IQ survey. The merchandise budgets
of more than half of the 381 survey
respondents are where they were last
year, while purse strings at most organizations remain under $10,000 and
under $50 per recipient.
A heartening trend is the rise in the
percentage of respondents who reported slight budget increases (up to 9%),
and the bracket of respondents holding
up to five percent more spending dollars this year ranks second, behind only
those who are working with same-size
budgets. Still, the percentage of program managers who are working with
50 percent fewer dollars this year is
notably higher, too.
For every six out of 10 program
managers, merchandise awards repre-
sent 10 percent or less of their overall
annual incentive budgets, which means
that there is still a lot of the spend pie
left for merchandise suppliers to cap-
ture at organizations using rewards and
recognition. To grab more of that pie,
suppliers will have to reach the C-suite,
as more than one-third of respondents
said the CEOs, COOs, or CMOs of
their companies handle the programs.
How does your company’s annual merchandise
awards budget compare with last year’s?
2012
2011
Up to 5% increase................. 16.3%................. 12.8%
5 to 9% increase ................... 8.3%................... 7.8%
10 to 24% increase ............... 4.2%................... 7.2%
25 to 49% increase ...............0.6%................... 0.6%
50%+ increase ....................0.6%................... 2.2%
Same/No change....................56.9%................. 55.0%
Up to 5% decrease................2.9%................... 3.3%
5 to 9% decrease ..................1.9%................... 3.3%
10 to 24% decrease ..............2.6%................... 2.2%
25 to 49% decrease ..............2.2%................... 2.8%
50%+ decrease.................... 3.5%................... 2.8%
What is your company’s annual budget for
merchandise awards?
2012
2011
Less than $10,000 .................52.7%................. 47.8%
$10,000 to $24,999................ 12.5%................. 14.3%
$25,000 to $49,999................ 9.3%................... 5.5%
$50,000 to $74,999................ 3.5%................... 5.5%
$75,000 to $149,999.............. 5.1%................... 8.8%
$150,000 to $249,999............ 4.8%................... 3.8%
$250,000 to $499,999............2.9%................... 4.4%
$500,000 to $999,999............ 3.8%...................2.7%
$1,000,000 or more ............... 5.4%................... 7.2%
Incentive’s 2012 Merchandise IQ survey was compiled between Feb. 15, 2012 and March 23, 2012. It was available on www.incentivemag.com and www.facebook.com/incentivemag,
and was sent via email to subscribers of Incentive magazine, the Incentive weekly email newsletter, and the biweekly Incentive Gift Card email newsletter.
A total of 381 responses were received.
