Gift Cards for Survey Incentives: Best Practices + Easy Examples

If you’re asking people for their time, opinions and honest feedback, how you say “thank you” matters. 

Surveys are essential for businesses today. They improve products, refine customer experience and reduce churn and burn. But let’s be honest: inboxes are crowded, attention is limited and surveys are rarely at the top of anyone’s to-do list.

That’s where incentives come in.

When used thoughtfully, eGift Cards can significantly increase response rates, improve completion quality and signal something important: we value your time.

This guide covers when to use gift cards for survey incentives, best practices for getting it right and real-world examples you can apply today – yes, right now! 

Why Use Gift Cards for Survey Incentives?

Research consistently shows that incentives increase survey participation – substantially. Small guaranteed rewards tend to outperform prize draws because certainty feels more tangible than possibility.

More importantly, incentives shift the tone.

Instead of saying: “Please do this for us.” You’re saying: “We appreciate your time.”

For employees, that builds trust.

For customers, it builds goodwill. 

For participants, it creates reciprocity.

And psychologically? It creates connection – really. 

eGift Cards are particularly effective because they’re flexible, allowing recipients to choose something they genuinely want. They’re easy to deliver digitally, which means no postage delays, no lost parcels and no manual coordination – just instant, seamless delivery. 

They’re appropriate across industries, whether you’re surveying frontline employees, corporate teams, customers or research participants. And importantly, they work for everyone – whether you’re sending ten rewards or a thousand, the process remains efficient and manageable.

Who Uses Survey Incentives?

Survey incentives aren’t just for marketing teams. They’re widely used across functions.

HR + People Teams:

• Employee engagement surveys
• Pulse checks
• Culture audits
• Exit surveys

Marketing + Customer Experience Teams:

• NPS surveys
• Post-purchase feedback
• Brand perception studies
• Customer satisfaction surveys

Product Teams:

• Beta testing feedback
• Feature validation surveys
• User research participation

If someone’s giving you insight, an incentive can meaningfully increase participation – especially when time is scarce (so… always). 

Best Practices for Using Gift Cards as Survey Incentives

1. Keep the Incentive Proportional

The reward should match the effort.

• 3-5 minute survey: $5–$10 eGift Card
• 10-15 minute survey: $10–$20
• 30+ minutes or specialist panels: $30–$75

Overpaying wastes budget, while underpaying lowers response rates. Aim for respect, not extravagance.

2. Offer Guaranteed Rewards (Not Just Prize Draws)

Guaranteed incentives almost always outperform “chance to win” models.

A simple message like, “Complete this 5-minute survey and receive a $10 digital gift card” is clearer and more motivating than: “Enter to win one of three $100 vouchers.”

Certainty drives action.

3. Make Redemption Flexible

One of the biggest mistakes in survey incentives? Choosing a single retailer and hoping it suits everyone.

Instead, offer a flexible, multi-brand digital gift card option, like the AnyCard, that allows recipients to choose where to redeem. This eliminates guesswork and increases perceived value.

When recipients feel in control of the reward, satisfaction increases – even if the dollar value stays the same.

4. Deliver Quickly

Speed builds trust.

If someone completes your survey today but receives their incentive weeks later, the goodwill fades. Wherever possible, automate delivery or schedule it to send within 24-48 hours.

Fast fulfilment also reduces follow-up emails and admin. 

5. Plan for Scale

Sending 10 gift cards manually is manageable. Sending 250? That’s an afternoon gone. 2,000? That’s a logistical nightmare.

When survey volumes increase, bulk digital distribution becomes critical. Look for platforms like GroupTogether that allow:

• CSV uploads
• Personalized messages per recipient
• Scheduled sending
• Delivery tracking
• Redemption oversight

Without this, your “quick survey campaign” becomes an admin project.

Survey Incentive Examples

Here’s how gift cards can work in real scenarios:

Example 1: Employee Engagement Pulse Survey

Your employee engagement pulse survey should be a short, focused survey designed to take a quick “temperature check” on how employees are feeling. Unlike annual engagement surveys, pulse surveys are typically sent more frequently – monthly or quarterly – and focus on specific themes such as workload, leadership communication, team morale or overall job satisfaction. A small but flexible reward works best here.

Survey length: 8 minutes

Audience: 50 employees

Incentive: $15 AnyCard eGift Card

Employees should receive their eGift Card within 24 hours of survey completion. Because the card allows brand choice, it suits a distributed workforce with varied preferences.

Result: Higher response rate and positive perception of leadership transparency. 

Example 2: Customer NPS Campaign

A Customer NPS (Net Promoter Score) campaign is a feedback initiative designed to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction. It typically revolves around one core question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?” Customers respond on a scale from 0 to 10, and their answers help businesses understand who their promoters, passives and detractors are.

Yes, the question itself is ridiculously simple, though the outcome is anything but. NPS surveys help identify customer advocates, flag at-risk accounts and uncover areas for improvement. But one of the biggest issues with this type of survey is the sheer number of requests customers get – this is where you’ll want to stand out from the crowd with your incentives. But that doesn’t mean you have to go overboard with rewards – as little as $5 can be the difference between a customer scrolling past and clicking the link. 

Survey length: 5 minutes

Audience: 600 recent customers

Incentive: $10 AnyCard eGift Card

Customers receive a guaranteed reward for completing the survey. The small amount keeps budget controlled while significantly lifting response rates compared to non-incentivized campaigns.

Example 3: Product Beta Testing

Product beta testing involves inviting a select group of users to try a new feature, product update or service before it’s officially launched. The goal is to gather detailed feedback on usability, performance, clarity and overall experience – and to catch issues before a wider rollout.

Unlike a quick customer satisfaction survey, beta testing often requires more time and effort – participants may need to explore new functionality, complete tasks, answer in-depth questions or attend feedback sessions. You see where we’re going with this, right? The incentive should reflect the higher time commitment.

Survey length: 30 minutes

Audience: 80 power users

Incentive: $50 AnyCard eGift Card

Because the time commitment is higher, the reward reflects that effort. Flexible redemption ensures international participants can choose something relevant.

Example 4: Exit Survey Participation

An exit survey is conducted when an employee leaves the organization, with the aim of understanding their experience, reasons for departure and suggestions for improvement. Done well, exit surveys provide some of the most honest and valuable insights a business can receive – because departing employees often feel freer to share candid feedback.

Survey length: 12 minutes

Audience: Departing employees

Incentive: $20 AnyCard eGift Card

The incentive encourages honest participation and shows respect during a sensitive transition.

Operational Considerations for Survey Incentives

Before launching a survey incentive campaign, consider:

• Budget control: Set a clear per-response cap.
• Fraud prevention: Validate participants against your lead list (i.e. make sure they’re real customers/staff).
• Delivery tracking: Make sure you can track eGift Card sends, opens and thank yous using a platform like GroupTogether. 

The operational side matters just as much as the incentive itself.

Where Bulk Distribution Makes the Difference

The real challenge in survey incentives isn’t choosing the reward – it’s sending it efficiently.

When you’re distributing dozens, hundreds or a thousand digital gift cards, you need a system designed for bulk sending. 

Upload once. Personalize at scale. Schedule. Track.

Platforms like GroupTogether make this straightforward by allowing:

• Bulk email recipient uploads
• Personalized messages per recipient
• Flexible multi-brand eGift Card options (via the AnyCard)
• Instant or scheduled delivery
• Clear visibility into delivery status

Instead of manually issuing rewards one by one, you manage the entire campaign in minutes.

And when incentives are easy to send, they’re more likely to become part of your feedback strategy – not a one-off experiment.

Remember: Survey incentives aren’t about bribing participation. They’re about acknowledging effort.

And when distributed efficiently at scale, they become a practical, repeatable part of your insight strategy. 

If you’re asking people to share their perspective, make it worth their time. It’s that simple.

Because appreciation – when delivered well – goes a long way.

Meet the experts

Melissa Evans

Content Writer

Ali + Julie

Co-Founders, GroupTogether.

Life’s busy. That’s why we’re here to make it easy for you to collect money from a group. Less wasted time, less packaging waste, and spending a little less but giving a lot better!