With today’s economy being the way it is, it is vital for businesses to understand how to truly incent their consumers. Parago recently surveyed more than 1,400 shoppers to learn what rewards would change their purchasing habits.

The company, which is based in Texas, provides end-to-end engagement management programs for consumers, sales channels and employees and has become a large provider of manufacturer and retailer promotional marketing programs like rebates and incentives programs.

According to key findings from the research, when it comes to consumers, prepaid cards rule. Two out of three shoppers surveyed said that they prefer physical cards over digital cards. When it comes to car buyers two times more buyers prefer a $200 prepaid card over a $250 instant discount.

In addition, the survey showed that 62 percent of consumers purchasing tires prefer a cash reward on a prepaid card while one out of two consumers will choose their cable, Internet or utility provider by whether or not they offer prepaid card rewards.

Consumers surveyed about hotels stated that a prepaid card reward was four times more powerful than the offer of 50 percent off of a third night.

Theresa Wabler, global director of Marketing at Parago commented, “We’re not surprised to confirm that consumers love prepaid card rewards; these cards are like cash and people enjoy the flexibility and convenience. 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.”

According to the Mercator Advisory Group, prepaid cards popularity is evident by the markets constant growth, which grew to $194.5 billion in 2012.

The survey – 23 questions, completed in September 2013, included more than 1,400 consumers representative of the U.S. population by education, income and sex.