Commentary

Digital Coupon Redemption Value Beats Newspapers

by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, March 1, 2010

According to statistics from Coupons.com, savings offered through the Company's outlets grew 170% in value during 2009 to more than $858 million. By comparison, growth measures for newspaper coupon value last year ranged from 8% (per TNS Media Intelligence) to 16% (estimate from retail consultant Inmar.) As a result, says the report, redemption values on its digital offering outstripped the increase in newspaper-based coupons by more than 10 to 1.

Steven Boal, Coupons.com CEO, said "... for the first time in almost two decades the use of coupons increased in 2009... due (in part) to the growth of digital coupons... more consumers made them part of their shopping routine..."

The company cited other research to underline the strong growth of the digital coupon sector in 2009. For example, coupons/ rewards was the fifth fastest growing Internet category last year, according to online metrics firm Nielsen. Google searches for the terms "printable coupons" and "online printable coupons" grew 186% and 178% respectively during the year, while Yahoo said "coupons" ranked first on its list of economy-related search queries-followed by "unemployment", "stimulus plan", "cash for clunkers" and "student loans".

Internal data from Coupons.com found that ready-to-eat cereal was the most popular product category for digital coupons last year, by a wide margin, followed by yoghurt, just as they were in 2008. But the rest of the coupon favorites list showed some shakeup. Last year, salty snacks filled the third slot; this year sweet snacks took that honor, and the salt goods dropped to number five.

Also new to this year's list: refrigerated dough, nutritional snacks, condiments and pizza. The addition of non-CPG categories quick-service restaurants/ casual dining and entertainment to the 2009 top list indicates a growing interest on the part of non-grocery brands in offering online discounts, the report says.

Top Coupon Categories, 2009(Coupons.com internal data)
*Rank*	*Category*
1	Ready-to-eat cereal
2	Yogurt
3	Sweet snacks
4	Refrigerated dough
5	Salty snacks
6	QSR/casual dining
7	Nutritional snacks
8	Entertainment
9	Condiments
10	Pizza
Source: Coupons.com, February 2010

The 2009 savings index, relating the size of metro population to the value of the company's coupons redeemed, found that Atlanta residents were heavy users of Coupons.com offers in 2009, followed by Tampa, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Minneapolis.

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5 comments about "Digital Coupon Redemption Value Beats Newspapers".

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Thomas Trumble from Jack Morton Worldwide, March 1, 2010 at 9:40 a.m.
I would love to think that your headline was true "Digital Coupon Redemption Value Beats Newspapers", but the data just proves that a new coupon service, the Grocery iQ smartphone app, is growing at a faster rate than the established newspaper coupon network, which is hardly shocking. To boil down the data behind the headline to an inaccurate, but simple way of understanding the data behind your data. Grocery iQ could have had 10 users and increased that to 27 users (170% growth) while is newspapers had 300 users and gained 24 new ones then they would only have an 8% growth rate while they actually gained 7 more users than Grocery iQ.
I can use the data that digital couponing is growing, but lose the hyperbole. I suspect that it's gotten in the way of more complete data on digital couponing that I'd like because it would prove how overblown the headline is.
Reply

Doug Pruden from Customer Experience Partners, March 1, 2010 at 9:45 a.m.

I'm hoping that someone can help me here. I'm always curious when I see comparisons of growth without base sizes (it being a lot easier to show rapid growth on a small base than a large one). I have no doubt that coupon use is growing in this economic environment, and that online is a great way to add to coupon distribution, but has online coupon redemption now surpassed print coupon redemption (either in volume or dollar value) as the headline suggests?

Also, is this couponing bringing new buyers to the categories. Are all those redemptions in say the ready-to-eat cereal actually inceasing profits, or are they just discounting sales that would have been made anyway?

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, March 1, 2010 at 11:07 a.m.

What a better way of disguising of getting your outside the home profile than with coupons? Think about it. Then think more about it. And who wants to stand in line behind a person who is trying to use a multiple of mobile coupons?

James Winston, March 2, 2010 at noon

How much did Coupons.com pay you to write this crap?

Newspapers volume is far larger than the total number of online coupons (which make up about 3% overall). It is like comparing apples and oranges.

Try doing your job!

Doug Pruden from Customer Experience Partners, March 4, 2010 at 9:16 a.m.

There is a real potential problem here. You're making comparisons of growth rates without presenting the base sizes (after all it's lot easier to show rapid growth on a small base than a large one). I have no doubt that coupon use is growing in this economic environment, and that online is a great way to add to coupon distribution, but has online coupon redemption now surpassed print coupon redemption (either in volume or dollar value) as the headline suggests?