68% of the manufacturing industry ‘is incentivised with gifts from suppliers’

Rewarding corporate clients for their custom and loyalty has always been big business, but new data has revealed that the practice is more common place in the manufacturing industry than any other.

The survey of 1,004 UK employees by One4all Rewards, carried out as part of the Business Incentives Census, revealed 68% of manufacturing industry workers have received rewards and incentives from an existing or new supplier to their company.

The data also found that the UK corporate gifting market on a whole is currently estimated at £78.3 million.

Food and drink items, such as bottles of wine and hampers, are the most popular types of rewards being given out in the manufacturing industry (42%), suggesting many businesses hope to reach customers' hearts through their stomachs.

Gift cards which offer the recipient the opportunity to choose a reward for themselves were the second most common (36%), followed by more memorable types of rewards as 26% have been gifted event tickets and days out.

Monetary rewards (23%) such as loyalty bonuses followed food, drink and gift cards.

23% of business to business rewards are invitations to parties and events, used to build or reinforce relationships with customers and partners.

Declan Byrne, managing director at One4all Rewards, said: "It is interesting to see how much the marketing practice of engaging existing and prospective clients via small gifts is being utilised by those within extremely competitive sections of the private sector, such as manufacturing. This suggests that suppliers targeting this sector can't afford to not incentivise prospective customers as, in this industry, it is so commonplace that if they aren't doing this, they can pretty much bet their competitors are."

The utilities (67%) and information & communications (62%) sectors closely followed manufacturing for their use of corporate gifts and rewards as incentives to their new and existing customers.

One4all Rewards are industry experts in benefits and rewards. Working with over 6,000 businesses of all sizes nationwide, One4all Rewards help to transform customer and employee relationships through successful rewards and incentive schemes.