Study: Consumers prefer prepaid, physical cards

Lewisville, Texas – Consumers prefer prepaid cards that can be used anywhere to gift cards from specific retailers and physical cards to digital cards.



According to the new “People Prefer Prepaid Rewards” study from Parago, more than half of shoppers prefer prepaid cards over gift cards from Amazon, iTunes, Target, Walmart, Home Depot and more. In addition, two out of three shoppers prefer physical cards over digital cards.



“We’re not surprised to confirm that consumers love prepaid card rewards; these cards are like cash and people enjoy the flexibility and convenience,” said Theresa Wabler, global director of marketing at Parago. “What was more unexpected was that, in an era of digital shopping, consumers still prefer physical over digital rewards. This report gives a clear directive to consumer-facing businesses: your customers are more likely to buy from you when rewarded with prepaid cards, sometimes even in values lower than other incentives.”



The shopper survey was completed in September 2013 via independent online delivery. More than 1,400 consumers (representative of the U.S. population by education, income and sex) responded to a 23-question survey that explored which rewards would affect their purchasing behaviors.