• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, May 9, 2013

Running ads prior to a product launch helps familiarize consumers with new merchandise, especially for value-minded shoppers. New research released Thursday shows how digital coupons during a new product's release increases awareness.

For the food products tested, the brand recall rose 36.3%; household, 11.9%; and beverage, 7.2%.

Millward Brown's Dynamic Logic study commissioned by Coupons.com measures the effectiveness of site advertising and/or sponsorships on Coupons.com for three consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands in food, beverage and household cleaning supplies. Findings from the study, conducted in January and February 2013, show higher increases in consumer recall and purchase intent, compared with industry benchmarks.

An increase in purchases for three new product launches translated into more than 16.6% for the food items, 6.6% for the beverage, and 7% for the household cleaning. The increases rose higher than Dynamic Logic's CPG industry benchmark for purchase intent of 1.1%, suggesting shoppers are 9.2 times on average more likely to consider purchasing the new products featured on Web sites like Coupons.com.

Coupons.com research conducted in March shows 59% of consumers in the pre-shopping mode when browsing online coupons plan to visit a grocery store within two days, and 43% plan to shop within the next 24 hours.

Some 51% of price-conscious consumers who rely on coupons admit to using them more today than they did five years ago, according to results of the Shopper Trend Report from RetailMeNot released last month. The company supports a coupon app for the iPhone with the ability for consumers to search and find digital coupons for nearby retailers in 500 shopping malls. The app also enables users to request geo-fencing for additional shopping areas.

Complimentary release to Coupons.com also released from GfK analyzes digital coupon consumer spending habits. The study found digital coupon users spend 42% more on groceries annually, about $4,295, compared with average shoppers $3,035.

Compared with average shoppers, digital coupon users make 25% more shopping trips annually, as well as spend 13% more each time and 42% more per year on grocery purchases.