Take a peek inside your swag closet. What do you see? Boxes of last year’s company T-shirts no one ever claimed? Golf balls and laptop covers from a company offsite six months ago? Pens and notebooks left over from the recent rebrand?
If your swag budget keeps vanishing into boxes of unused polo shirts and forgotten onboarding gifts, you’re not alone. While marketing teams often get the spotlight for event swag, HR’s swag budget for internal merchandise is substantial and growing. According to industry benchmarks, many People teams allocate between $150 and $250 per employee per year for branded items like welcome kits, milestone gifts, or team celebrations. More generous budgets can reach $500 per employee annually, especially when swag plays a central role in employee engagement and culture-building.
Yet, multiple reports find that up to 40% of all swag and gifts ends up in landfills.
Luckily, there are better ways to share the love without the waste. The first is a swag stipend, which is dedicated to giving your employees access to funds to purchase their own company swag and branded merchandise. With Compt, you get a fully branded and on-demand online store combined with a swag stipend that employees can use to choose the branded gear they actually want.
Alternatively, you can use a Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA). These reimbursement-based accounts give employees access to stipends across multiple categories bundled together in one benefit, like wellness, professional development, food, family, and swag. That way, employees can choose how to best invest their discretionary benefits, and companies can make their employee perks budget stretch further. If you choose an LSA with Compt, you can offer a specific swag stipend.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a step back and explore how swag stipends and/or LSAs can eliminate waste, surprise and delight your employees, and help you manage your swag budget (as a part of your overall benefits budget) more strategically and effectively.
Why traditional swag budgets result in waste (and frustration)
Your swag budget is the portion of your perks or engagement budget allocated to company-branded merchandise like hoodies, mugs, socks, and laptop cases. Traditionally, HR’s role in the process has been placing bulk orders, guessing on the right quantities and sizes, and hoping employees like and want what arrives in their swag bags. Otherwise, all the energy you put in goes straight into the trashcan.
Swag is often purchased to align people and culture or celebrate milestones, whether the person’s or the company’s. These reasons aren’t inherently wrong, but without real data or feedback on how the swag is received, companies often overspend on merchandise that doesn’t resonate. That results in piles of unwanted gear, all while employees barely notice the effort it took to coordinate the logistics of storing boxes and managing shipments. It’s inefficient, and it drains both time and morale. Which is exactly what you don’t want swag to do.
In most cases, the waste stems from a few predictable pitfalls:
- Overordering and underutilization: Without knowing what people actually want, companies end up with closets full of leftover swag no one feels compelled to claim. Even if you ask about preferences and sizes, employees may not know, or may change their minds later.
- HR doing double duty as fulfillment: Someone has to gather sizes, track addresses, ship boxes, and/or coordinate desk drops. That someone is usually your People team. And let’s be honest — no one got into HR to manage inventory and postage. Let’s hand those tasks back to the experts, shall we?
- Swag that doesn’t land: Generic, one-size-fits-all items rarely feel personal or meaningful. Even with good intentions, it’s easy to get this wrong. The first swag items I toss, personally, are branded mouse pads and cheap plastic water cups with straws or sippy lids. Thanks, but no thanks.
“Too many HR leaders are stuck wasting time and money managing swag no one uses. With Snappy, we’ve built a turnkey way to build culture and celebrate employees with branded gear they’ll actually want.”
— Amy Spurling, Founder and CEO, Compt
How stipends and LSAs with Compt flip the swag script
But here’s the thing: employees actually do like swag! After moving on from my previous organization and joining Compt, I had to completely overhaul my remote work wardrobe because I no longer had any accurately branded T-shirts or polos. It was kind of a big deal.
Needless to say, I’m looking forward to using my own swag stipend. Why? Because I’ll get to choose exactly what I get. That’s the beauty of a solution with a built-in, turnkey Company Swag Store + Swag Stipend. I know for a fact that what I receive will be personalized to my size and preferences, and that it will arrive without hassle. I won’t have to dig through a pile of leftover T-shirts in the company kitchen, searching out that elusive size M in a color I don’t dislike or already own.
For companies looking to modernize how they manage their swag budget as a part of their overall benefits package, the Company Swag Store + Swag Stipend turn swag into a flexible benefit rather than a forced freebie.
Here’s how it works:
- You, the employer, set the budget and then give your employees access to your customized Company Swag Store. If you’re using an LSA to integrate swag with your other Compt lifestyle benefits, you’ll define swag as one of the eligible LSA categories.
- Your employees choose the gear they want, in the sizes and styles they prefer, and check out as normal.
- They submit their receipt for reimbursement in the swag category, either as a standalone stipend or as a part of your LSA. You approve it.
- The swag they chose ships directly to their door with no fuss and no stress.
And for you, that means streamlined swag operations: No more bulk ordering (though you still can if you prefer), no guessing games when it comes to sizing or preferences, and no more overflowing boxes of old, untouched swag taking up precious closet space.
It also adds a couple layers of nuance for Finance:
- Better budget alignment: You only spend when swag is actually ordered.
- Clear reporting: See how funds are being used, by whom, and for what.
According to Compt’s internal data, participation in stipend programs jumps to 93% when choice is introduced. That’s more than triple the rate of traditional perk programs: A survey by benefits broker NFP found that only 28% of employees make maximum use of perks and benefits because of the misalignment between what they value and what their companies offer.
How Compt helps you manage your swag budget in smarter ways
We already talked a little about this, but let’s dig into the details. To make swag even easier, Compt partnered with Snappy to launch a free, integrated Company Swag Store + Swag Stipend. This integration lets you create a branded experience for employees without the overhead:
- HR sets a swag stipend or includes swag as a category in an all-inclusive LSA.
- Employees choose from more than 80 custom-branded items from brands like Nike, CamelBak, Yeti, and more.
- Snappy handles production and fulfillment, so there’s no on-hand inventory or boxes taking up space.
Orders are fulfilled on demand and shipped globally to employees’ doors in more than 170 countries. Whether your team is hybrid, remote, or global, every employee gets equal access to branded swag (without blowing your swag budget).
This model solves several issues raised during conversations we’ve had with companies at which distributed teams and uncertain benefit categories created confusion and low adoption. One HR leader noted their CEO had “trust issues” with stipends, fearing employees would misuse funds. But with Compt, spend is transparent, compliant, aligned to policy, and always within budget.
Every reimbursement submitted through Compt requires a receipt — not just to confirm the purchase matches your policy, but to ensure it’s coded correctly for tax compliance. The platform sorts taxable from nontaxable expenses, integrates with payroll systems, and provides all the reporting Finance needs, providing a level of visibility that builds trust from leadership down.
Traditional swag vs. swag stipends with Compt + Snappy: a quick comparison
To summarize the transformation, here’s a side-by-side look at old-school swag approaches vs. the new Compt + Snappy swag stipend model:
| Traditional swag approach | Compt + Snappy swag stipend |
|---|---|
| Company guesses and pre-buys boxes of swag in bulk, often with leftovers nobody wants | Company sets a stipend budget; no bulk ordering unless you choose to |
| HR chases down sizes and addresses, then ships boxes manually | Employees self-serve: pick their gear, size, and style from a branded online store |
| Generic items go unused or sit in storage | You only pay for what gets ordered — a controlled swag budget with no waste and no extras |
| Swag lives in a silo, often disconnected from other benefits | Swag is part of a unified, five-in-one lifestyle benefits platform with streamlined reimbursements and ~90% program participation |
Ready to make your swag budget work smarter with Compt?
Reducing wasted spend in your swag budget is about making swag more personalized, flexible, and efficient, not cutting the benefit. When employees get to choose their own gear through a lifestyle stipend or LSA, it becomes something they actually value (and use). And when you manage it through Compt, you can track, scale, and feel good about it, all without printing out a single shipping label.
Want to learn more about how swag stipends can make your perks program more impactful (and a whole lot more fun)? Request a demo.
FAQs: How to optimize your swag budget
Most companies spend up to $250 per employee per year, depending on the occasion and purpose (e.g., onboarding, milestones, culture boosts, etc.). If you’re using a stipend model with Compt, you can set a fixed monthly, quarterly, or annual amount, or allocate swag as a one-time bonus or gift. This makes your swag budget predictable and easy to manage.
How often should we send swag to employees?
It depends on your goals. Some companies tie swag to specific moments like onboarding, anniversaries, or team events. Others offer it quarterly or as part of a broader engagement cycle. The beauty of Compt’s stipend-based, flexibility-focused model is that while you control the cadence, employees can claim what they want, when it’s most meaningful. When to send swag becomes something you never have to worry about again.
What are the best platforms for linking a swag store to stipends?
Compt + Snappy is purpose-built for this. You can use a dedicated swag stipend or add a swag category to your LSA, assign a budget, and let employees self-serve from a curated store of 80+ branded items, all without handling fulfillment or tracking inventory.
Should swag live in a separate budget or be part of something larger?
Either works, but using either a dedicated swag stipend or bundling swag into your broader Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA) with Compt often makes the most sense. It keeps things simple, gives employees more flexibility, and ensures you only pay for what gets used. As a part of LSA, swag can be offered alongside specific, tax-compliant programs like wellness, professional development, and team recognition.
What if I already have a swag vendor?
No problem. With Compt, you can “tag in” an existing swag vendor or store as an approved merchant for use with a swag stipend. Employees submit receipts like they would for any other stipend purchase, and everything routes through your same reimbursement flow. However, this model would mean bypassing the benefits of Snappy’s fulfillment, so we’d only recommend it if you’re truly happy with your existing vendor.
How do I scale swag globally without creating more admin work?
That’s where the Compt + Snappy partnership shines. Fulfillment is on-demand and swag ships direct to your employee’s door in more than 170 countries. Whether your team is fully remote, hybrid, or globally distributed, everyone gets access to the same swag experience, without anyone on your HR team handling packing or shipping.
How do I track swag spend and avoid budget bloat?
Compt gives you real-time visibility into how swag budgets are being used. From the dashboard, you can monitor employee engagement, track stipend usage over time, and export detailed reports showing exactly how funds are being spent. You’ll see trends in participation, spot underused budgets, and ensure everything stays aligned with your policy. All reimbursement activity is backed by receipts so Finance can stay confident in the data. There’s no manual tracking or guesswork, which means no room for mystery (or margin for waste).
Is Compt tax-compliant, especially when it comes to swag stipends?
Yes, Compt is designed with tax compliance in mind, including for fringe benefits like swag. Every purchase submitted through the platform requires a receipt, which helps confirm that the item aligns with your policy and enables proper record-keeping. The system automatically distinguishes between taxable and nontaxable expenses (which, by the way, swag is nontaxable), flags anything outside of policy, and integrates with payroll platforms to ensure reimbursements are coded correctly.
This eliminates manual tracking, reduces the risk of fringe benefit tax surprises, and makes year-end reporting much smoother for Finance and HR, regardless of whether swag is treated as a standalone stipend or part of a broader Lifestyle Spending Account (LSA).
What kind of employee swag actually gets used?
Short answer: swag that gets used is swag employees choose. Modern swag budgets work better when built around stipends geared toward personalization. When employees choose their own gear, especially from high-quality brands they recognize, it’s more likely to be worn, used, and appreciated. That’s why stipends work better than bulk buys: personalization leads to pride. And according to Snappy, 85% of U.S. employees feel a stronger sense of pride when they wear company-branded swag.
How do I build a swag policy for remote or distributed teams?
Start by deciding when and how swag will be offered, such as during onboarding, at milestones, or as part of a recurring stipend for ongoing culture moments. Then, set a budget and define swag as an eligible category (either standalone or within your Compt LSA).
The Company Swag Store was built for distributed teams and remote employees; all they have to do is purchase their own branded gear (to be reimbursed with your swag stipend), and have it shipped straight to their home. With Compt, employees can choose from a curated swag store that ships to more than 170 countries, so everyone gets access regardless of where they live or work.
Pricing is all-inclusive, including international shipping and any related fees, so there are no surprise charges for you or your team. Most international orders arrive within 12-15 business days, though delivery to countries like Ukraine, Argentina, and India may take longer because of additional regulations. Because fulfillment and tax compliance are handled behind the scenes, your policy can stay straightforward and scale globally.
