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HOME • MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS • MEDIA KIT
Coupons Dictate Shopping Patterns For 1/3 Of Consumers
by Jack Loechner, Monday, October 19, 2009, 8:15 AM

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TAGS:  Research, Holiday, Coupons

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The Second Annual Benchmark Survey on Consumer Coupon Behavior, conducted by HarrisInteractive for RetailMeNot, found that 45% of online adults plan to spend less money on gifts this holiday season compared to last holiday season, the same percentage as in 2008, and increasing their insistence on coupons to make the purchase.

Consumers are increasingly defining their spending habits by whether or not retailers offer coupons:

  • 30% of online adults will not make a purchase at an online store if they can't find a coupon for that store, up from 27% in 2008
  • 22% of online adults will go to a different store to make that purchase, up from 20% in 2008, while 8% will wait until a coupon is available to make the purchase (same in 2008)

What are you most likely to do when you can't find a coupon for an online store? (% OF All Online Adults)

 

2009

2008

Look For Coupons For Online Stores (Net)

62%

62%

   Make Purchase At Different Store/Wait to Make Purchase

30

27

      Make my purchase at a different store that offers coupons and sells the same item

22

20

      Wait to make the purchase until a coupon is available

8

8

   Make my purchase anyway

28

29

   Other

4

5

I do not look for coupons for online stores.

38

38

Source: HarrisInteractive/RetailMeNot, October 2009

  

Given the current state of the economy, will you be spending more, less or about the same amount of money on gifts this holiday season as compared to last holiday season? ["holiday season" means the time period between Thanksgiving and New Year's.]

 

% All Online Adults

% Online Shoppers

 

2009

2008

2009

2008

Change In Spending (Net)

49%

51%

100%

100%

   Spend More

4

5

8

11

      Significantly more

1

2

1

3

      Somewhat more

3

4

7

8

   Spend Less

45

45

92

89

      Somewhat less

28

25

58

49

      Significantly less

17

20

34

40

About the same

45

43

N/A

N/A

I did not spend any money on gifts last holiday season and I will not spend any money on gifts this holiday season.

6

6

N/A

N/A

Source: HarrisInteractive/RetailMeNot, October 2009

To save money, 62% of online adults look for coupons for online stores, and 12% never make a purchase without checking an online coupon website first, a notable jump from 8% last year.

Which of the following best describes you? (% OF All Online Adults)

 

2009

2008

I never make a purchase without checking an online coupon website first.

12%

8%

I occasionally visit online coupon websites.

35

29

I don't visit online coupon websites.

25

32

I do not know what an online coupon website is.

16

17

None of these

13

14

Source: HarrisInteractive/RetailMeNot, October 2009

The survey also revealed that coupon use in the current economic environment is on the rise across nearly all demographics, but is highest among the employed and educated (college graduated):

  • 29% of college graduates use coupon websites to find good deals, compared with 24% of those with some college and 20% of those with an education level of high school or less. In 2008, these numbers were 23%, 20% and 20% respectively.
  • 27% of online adults who work full time or are self-employed use coupon websites (up from 22%); 22% of online adults that are unemployed use coupon websites (up from 18%); 25% of students use coupon websites (up from 23%); 18% of retired online adults use coupon websites (up from 14%).

"Consumers are more aware of their spending than ever and are very active in trying to find the best deals. Coupon websites are still growing rapidly in popularity, with nearly two-thirds of consumers checking for coupons when they shop online," said Guy King, co-founder of RetailMeNot.com. "As a result, we are seeing more and more merchants embracing coupons as a way to connect with their budget-conscious shoppers. Clearly, retailers that don't offer discounts not only jeopardize customer loyalty but could take a significant hit to the bottom line, especially as we head into the holiday season."

Large families and homes with children are also one of the fastest growing demographics to use coupon websites:

  • 30% of online adults in households with children use coupon websites (up from 24% in 2008); only 22% of online adults in households with no children use coupon websites (up from 20%)
  • 31% of online adults in households of five or more use coupons (up from 15%); only 15% of online adults that live alone use coupon websites (down from 17%)

Additional findings include:

  • 40% of online adults who use tools or websites to find good deals when shopping online in the Midwest use coupon websites, compared to 35% in the Northeast, 34% in the South and 29% in the West
  • The largest age group to use coupon websites is 35-44, with 41% of these online adults who use tools or websites to find good deals when shopping online, including 47% of these women and 34% of these men, using coupon websites
  • Married online adults who use tools or websites to find good deals when shopping online, are significantly more likely to use coupon websites, at 39% compared to 29% of these single or never married online adults and 21% of these divorced online adults

When shopping online, what tools or web sites, if any, do you use to find "good deals"?*

 

% All Online Adults

% Online Shoppers

 

2009

2008

2009

2008

Online Shoppers (Net)

83%

83%

100%

100%

Use Tools Or Websites To Find Good Deals (Sub-Net)

71

71

86

85

Search Engines (e.g., Google, Yahoo!)

49

46

59

56

Coupon web sites

24

21

29

25

Price comparison web sites (e.g., Pricegrabber.com, Shopping.Yahoo.com)

22

27

27

32

Email newsletters

21

21

25

25

Advertisements

20

19

24

23

Bargain-tracking web sites

11

10

14

12

Shopping-themed social networks (e.g., ThisNext.com, RetailMeNot.com, Kaboodle.com)

5

4

5

5

Blogs

4

4

5

5

Price protection web sites that alert me when a price drops after I make a purchase

3

4

4

5

Widgets or toolbars that alert me to deals when I'm shopping online

1

2

2

2

Other

9

10

11

12

I do not look for good deals online.

12

12

14

15

I do not shop online.

17

17

N/A

N/A

Source: HarrisInteractive/RetailMeNot, October 2009

For additional information, please visit RetailMeNot here.

 

53 people recommend this article. 

3 comments on "Coupons Dictate Shopping Patterns For 1/3 Of Consumers"

  1. June Bisel from BBG&G Advertising
    commented on: October 21, 2009 at 3:35 PM
    Coupons really are all the rage now! Even my kids (teens and young adults) look for online and newspaper coupons before they head out shopping or to grab a bite to eat.

    My agency recently started offering downloadable coupons from our web site businesscardcontacts.com - and this is exactly why. BusinessCardContacts.com is the Hudson Valley's Net Neighborhood and provides businesses who are marketing to the Hudson Valley an affordable and efficient way to reach the consumer.

    Check it out and let me know what you think!

  2. Ronnie Soud from Five Rivers Interactive
    commented on: October 20, 2009 at 9:33 PM
    Interesting read. This past spring, I took a look at online coupon search growth. I found some interesting stats and insights into online consumer behavior as it pertained to consumers trying to save money in a down-turned economy.

    Here is what i found - http://www.evisionworldwide.com/blog/2009/03/12/coupon-clipping-innovations-in-a-downturned-economy/

    It's going to be interesting to see how brands respond to this huge increase in consumer search for discounts and coupons. Brands are going to have to get more creative with advertising & marketing these savings as noise grows in that particular space.

  3. Benny Forsberg from Squace
    commented on: October 19, 2009 at 9:45 AM
    The relationsip is simple - when the economy is down, coupon use is up.. ...and furthermore the digital coupons are here to stay.

    The shameful printet broadcast versions (the ones you allways left at home on the fridge...) are viped out by their young digital cousins. It´s more trendy and ok to redeem a digital coupon. And if it´s delivered by a mobile its a perfect youcast action tha close-the-loop.

    Mobile coupon marketing enable retailers to target the right message, to the right audience, at the right time, to drive purchase. The millennials are the optimal demographic for digital incentives so long as those incentives are delivered in a safe, targeted and age-appropriate way.

    I think all future coupons will be delivered as a kind of "mobile-open-loop incentive-Card" - universally accepted on all mobile phones, incentive and payment method combined, digitaly customized and automatically redeemed.

    Mobile commerce will evolve around "private" one-to-one marketing, location based services and NFC (Near field communication tech) services.

    Just jump on the mobile marketing bandwagon! ;-)

    Benny Forsberg CMO www.squace.com

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