GiftCard Partners: Health and Wellness Programs

Boost Health & Wellness Program Engagement with Gift Card Incentives

Wellness programs are designed to improve the health and wellbeing of employees. However, the overall success and return on investment of any wellness program relies on participation. Gift card wellness incentives boost wellness program participation by rewarding employees for healthy behaviors with personalized rewards that best match your programs needs and goals.

Gift card wellness incentives can help in these key areas:

Reducing Healthcare Costs

For every dollar spent on a wellness program, companies save an average $3.00 as a result of reduced healthcare costs and an additional $3.00 in reduced absenteeism, according to a Harvard study. Wellness incentives, particularly non-cash incentives like gift cards, are cost effective ways to keep your ROI high. Even rewards as little as a $25 gift card to CVS® can be effective tools in promoting wellness program engagement.

Lowering Health Risks

Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and lung diseases are the leading causes of preventable death and disability. Incentivizing healthy behavior changes, such as adopting a new diet, regular exercise, smoking cessation, and routine health screenings, are effective ways to lower health risks in your workforce.

Encouraging Healthy Habits that Last

Adopting healthy habits doesn't happen overnight. In fact, research from the University College of London found that it can take up to 8 months to form a new habit, with 66 days being the median. However, if maintained for at least one year, they are more likely to stick. Gift card wellness incentives provide the motivation to make a change and the encouragement to stick with it.

Reducing Absenteeism

Reduce employee absenteeism—and the costs that come with it—by supporting employees to take ownership of their health. Encourage them to stay on top of preventative care visits, immunizations, and mental and physical health through wellness incentives. Wellness gift card incentives help to create a workplace environment where employees feel appreciated because their employer is investing in their health and wellbeing.

Gift Card Rewards: More Effective Than Cash

Although cash might seem like the best choice for rewards, a study from the Incentive Research Foundation showed that at an unconscious level, people are overwhelmingly drawn to non-cash rewards over cash. Additionally, since cash is often bundled with a recipient's paycheck and can go unseen, its value is lost on the recipient along with the reinforcement for that behavior to continue.

Wellness incentives don’t have to break the bank either: According to a 2019 UnitedHealthcare Wellness Check Up Survey, 68% of Americans said as little as $2 a day would motivate them to spend at least one hour per day improving their health.

Using Gift Cards in Wellness and Healthcare Programs

Increase Program Participation - A hospital in Pennsylvania provided gift cards to employees for successfully completing Wellness initiatives. By offering the gift cards they increased participation from 15% to 39% in the first year. They also provided gift cards to employees as a token of appreciation for a successful year each year in December.
Encouraging Healthy Habits - A leading financial corporation used CVS Select® gift cards to reward employees in their wellness program. As new health goals were met, additional funds were loaded onto gift cards.
Decreasing Absenteeism - A wellness program provider offered CVS® gift cards to employees at a Fortune 100 company to receive their seasonal flu shot. The program was successfully designed to increase immunization rates and decrease absenteeism during flu season.
Lowering Health Risks - A Blue Cross provider in Pennsylvania wanted to take better care of employees’ health and gave credits toward gift card purchases as a reward for health-related tasks like going to see their PCP with regularity, exercising, and nutrition counseling.

“GiftCard Partners has made choosing and purchasing gift card incentives for our wellness program a breeze. Our members range in demographic, so working with their team to find the best brand option for everyone has really helped with engagement.”

- Holly Tucker, Corporate Wellness Manager at CHRISTUS Health

Why Choose Gift Cards?

GiftCard Partners works closely with organizations to identify and match the best gift card incentives for health and wellness programs. Our Engage2Reward™ Platform offers a simple and secure way for organizations to order gift cards in bulk and select the right brands that encourage healthier habits and support the goals of specific programs. Wellness gift cards offer:

Memorability: Offer a memorable experience that's often shared with family and friends.
Something for Everyone: Appeal to a diverse audience by offering choice from a catalog of brands.
Convenience: Place bulk gift card orders on any device and conveniently ship, email or text your selections directly to the end recipient.
Instant Gratification: eGift cards are available with instant delivery.