IMA Launches New Incentive Industry Tools as Market Is Projected to Surpass $80B by the 2030s

The incentive industry is moving into a more complex phase as business spending on loyalty, employee recognition, and channel incentive programs is projected to exceed $80 billion by the 2030s.

To help incentive professionals keep pace, the Incentive Marketing Association has launched a new suite of resources focused on buyer expectations, program design, incentive education, global market insight, and professional certification.

The announcement reflects a larger shift in how companies view incentives. These programs are no longer just tactical rewards or one-off engagement campaigns. They are becoming more strategic tools for customer loyalty, employee motivation, partner performance, and business growth.

Incentive Programs Are Getting Bigger and More Complex

As more business spending moves into loyalty, recognition, and channel incentive programs, buyers are expecting more advanced solutions. Programs now need to be personalized, scalable, measurable, and aligned with broader business performance goals.

Vince Chiofolo, President of the Incentive & Engagement Solution Providers, said the market is not only seeing more investment but also more complexity.

“It’s not just more money coming in—it’s more complexity,” Chiofolo said. “Buyers are demanding programs that evolve fast, integrate deeply, and feel personal at scale. These new tools were built for that.”

That point matters for technology and marketing leaders because incentive programs increasingly sit at the intersection of data, customer engagement, partner ecosystems, and workforce experience.

IMA’s New Report Focuses on the Incentive Buyer

One of the key resources in the new suite is the report Inside the Incentive Buyer’s Mind.

According to IMA, the report is drawn from insights from more than 50 program owners. It is designed to help leaders understand how incentive buyers are thinking about program investment, performance, and scale.

The report is aimed at three major groups:

Leaders making incentive program investment decisions, solution providers refining how they position their services, and teams building programs for scale, precision, and performance.

For B2B companies, this kind of buyer insight can be useful because incentive programs often involve multiple stakeholders, including sales, marketing, HR, finance, operations, and channel teams.

EngageIQ Brings AI Into Incentive Education

IMA has also launched EngageIQ, described as the first AI assistant built for incentive education.

The assistant is now live through ChatGPT integration and is designed to answer real-time questions about segmentation, program design, reward models, and strategy logic.

This is one of the more technology-focused parts of the announcement. Incentive programs can become difficult to manage as companies segment audiences, personalize rewards, and align program mechanics with different business outcomes.

EngageIQ is positioned as a way to bring more structure and focused knowledge into conversations around recognition, loyalty, and incentives.

Motivation Insiders Podcast Returns With a Sharper Focus

IMA is also relaunching the Motivation Insiders Podcast with a more frequent format.

The podcast will feature practitioners, platform leaders, marketers, and incentive buyers. Each episode will focus on different aspects of behavioral science and how those ideas can be applied to incentive and recognition programs.

For teams building customer, employee, or channel engagement strategies, behavioral science is becoming an important part of program design. The effectiveness of an incentive program depends not only on the reward itself, but also on how the program motivates action and changes behavior.

Global Report Adds Regional and Role-Based Insight

The IMA Global Incentives & Recognition Report is another part of the resource suite.

The report consolidates insights from executives and companies to help incentive and recognition professionals understand the global landscape. IMA says the report provides structure, depth, and actionable insights across regions and roles.

This is relevant because incentive strategies often need to work across markets. A reward model that performs well in one geography or workforce segment may not translate directly to another.

IMA said the report is designed to support both global comparability and local relevance.

Certification Supports Employee Recognition Professionals

IMA also highlighted the Recognition Professionals Certification.

The Certified Recognition Professional designation is built on Recognition Professionals International’s 7 Best Practice Standards and supported by decades of research. The certification is intended for professionals working in employee recognition and related incentive disciplines.

As recognition programs become more connected to employee experience and retention strategies, professional standards may become more important for organizations trying to build credible, measurable programs.

Why This Matters for B2B Leaders

IMA’s announcement shows how the incentive market is becoming more strategic, data-driven, and specialized.

For B2B companies, incentive programs are no longer limited to simple reward catalogs or basic loyalty offers. They now support channel growth, employee engagement, customer retention, sales performance, and partner activation.

The launch of an AI assistant, buyer research, global reporting, certification resources, and a renewed industry podcast suggests that the market is preparing for a more mature phase.

As spending moves toward the projected $80 billion-plus mark by the 2030s, the companies that benefit most will likely be the ones that treat incentives as structured business systems rather than isolated campaigns.

Key Source / Reference

Official source: Business Wire — Incentive Market Set to Surpass $80B by 2030s — IMA Launches Tools to Help the Industry Keep Pace

FAQ Section

What did the Incentive Marketing Association announce?

The Incentive Marketing Association launched a new suite of tools and resources for incentive professionals, including an industry report, an AI assistant, a podcast relaunch, a global insights report, and recognition certification resources.

How large is the incentive market expected to become?

Combined business spending on loyalty, employee recognition, and channel incentives is projected to exceed $80 billion by the 2030s.

What is EngageIQ?

EngageIQ is an AI assistant launched by IMA for incentive education. It is live through ChatGPT integration and answers questions about segmentation, program design, reward models, and strategy logic.

What is Inside the Incentive Buyer’s Mind?

Inside the Incentive Buyer’s Mind is a new IMA report based on insights from more than 50 program owners. It focuses on the changing expectations of incentive buyers.

Why does this matter for B2B companies?

It matters because incentive programs are becoming more connected to business performance, including customer loyalty, employee recognition, channel incentives, and partner engagement.