Consumers are increasingly defining their spending habits by whether or not retailers offer coupons:
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):
"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:
Additional findings include:
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.
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
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.