It's No Gamble: Prize-Linked Savings Works

In early 2018, SaverLife and Commonwealth joined forces to launch Scratch & Save. Every week that they saved at least $5, SaverLife members received digital scratcher lottery cards with a chance to win $5. The results of SaverLife’s first foray into prize-linked saving are promising.

At the beginning of Scratch & Save, each member received a “free” scratch card. Those who played that initial card were 14% more likely to save in a given week than those who didn’t. In fact, people who saved and played a card in a given week were 30% more likely to save again the following week than those who didn’t.

Saving and Winning Is Addictive

Winning a prize in that first week was a major predictor of future savings. People who won in the first week saved $5 and played future scratch cards at double the rate of people who didn’t win in the first week.

Savings During Scratch & Save Were Often $5+

While members only needed $5 to be eligible for a scratch card, weekly savings deposits were often higher than $5. Savers routinely saved $20, $50, $75, and even $100 per week (figure 2).

Saver engagement in Scratch & Save was high. Over the ten weeks of the program, more than 3,000 unique members saved at least $5 in a week and scratched 8,347 cards. During that time, email open rates among eligible Savers were consistently above 40%, far higher than typical open rates and industry averages.