What if giving people more choice doesn’t confuse them, it connects them? When consumers are provided with options, they feel empowered. And empowered consumers pick and stay loyal to brands that respect their agency.
We’ve all felt it before: getting a gift card to a store we’d never choose. The intent is there, but the impact falls flat. It feels disconnected. Impersonal. And often, it goes unused.
In many cases, some or all of the gift card value is never redeemed. This is considerably more likely when the merchant doesn’t feel relevant. While unspent value might look like a win, the real cost is hidden. Every non-redemption is a missed opportunity to bring a customer through the door, spark a sale, or create a loyal relationship.
Now, flip the script.
Imagine getting a gift card but you choose where to spend it. Somewhere familiar. Or somewhere you’ve been curious to try. Suddenly, you're not just receiving, you’re deciding. That’s the power of choice. And it changes everything.
Human decision-making is wired around one core driver: autonomy. Decades of behavioral research show that when people feel in control of their decisions, they feel more motivated, more satisfied and more likely to take action. In consumer psychology, this plays out as a simple equation: more choice = more engagement.
When it comes to receiving rewards, incentives and payouts, recipients feel empowered when they choose the options that matter to them most. That freedom aligns closely to their core psychological need for autonomy and choice, making gift cards more impactful than just discounts or points. By letting recipients choose their own gift cards, merchants tap into the universal desire for personalization and control. And that matters because when people get to choose, they care more. They spend more. They remember the experience and they come back.
On the other hand, when consumers only receive a single option, the journey can stall. They hesitate. They defer spending. Or worse they abandon it entirely. At Runa, we have seen when recipients are offered a choice of payout types or merchants, they convert faster, spend more, and are more likely to redeem. Why? Because the journey feels personalized, empowering, and engaging.
This isn’t just good psychology, it's good business. Giving recipients control over which gift card they use doesn’t just elevate your brand, it drives higher spend. Choice leads them back to their favorites. And when that favorite is you? That’s when a one-time redemption turns into long-term loyalty, transforming the experience from passive use to one that feels personal, relevant, and preferred.
Research demonstrates how important flexibility is for recipients:
Businesses that send rewards and incentives through Runa prioritize recipient flexibility and choice.
With Runa Payout Links, businesses have the option to either send a specific gift card or send an open balance that the recipient can choose how to spend. For the latter, when a recipient gets a balance via email, they simply click the link, choose the merchants they want to spend at, and redeem on the spot. It’s fast, intuitive, and flexible. It’s so easy that recipients redeem quickly - in fact 98.3% of Runa recipients spend their gift card within 30 days of being sent a Payout Link.
With Runa, merchants can be seamlessly embedded into these superior recipient experiences that prioritizes choice and drives better business results:
When recipients choose how they want to spend:
It might seem counterintuitive: ceding some control over redemption delivers more impact for your brand. But choice doesn’t mean chaos. Thoughtfully structured options deliver:
Choice isn’t complexity. It’s clarity and transforms payouts from transactions into experiences. When recipients lead, engagement accelerates. When choice meets structure, overload disappears. Empowering consumers isn’t surrendering control, it’s capturing attention, spend, and loyalty. In the payout economy, choice wins.