In the more than hundred years since Coca Cola and Post Grape Nuts issued the very first coupons, the face of the industry and of the coupon shopper have transformed. With overall coupon use up 27% last year, after nearly two decades in decline, the coupon has made its comeback! But this time around both the coupons and the consumers who use them have changed!
Coupons Go Digital. Step aside Sunday coupon inserts, digital coupons are a rapidly growing force that will likely take over as the primary distribution method for coupons in the next 5-10 years. Companies like General Mills say they’re moving more of their coupon budget toward digital coupons and away from Sunday papers. Digital coupons boast higher redemption rates and often cost less to distribute.
Printable Coupons: The most prominent digital coupons are those that you can print right from home. In addition to top online printable coupon distribution sites like Coupons.com, Redplum.com and Smartsource.com, companies are using Facebook to distribute their coupons in exchange for you choosing to “like” the company. 20 percent of the U.S. population, more than 45 million American consumers are now using online coupons, reports Simmons Market Research.
eCoupons, otherwise known as, Save-To-Card Coupons are loaded directly from the web to your store loyalty card. When you purchase the designated items and use your loyalty card or phone number associated with that card at checkout, the savings will automatically be deducted from your total! Popular eCoupon websites include Cellfire.com, Shortcuts.com, PGeSaver.com, as well as coupons that may be loaded directly from the store’s own website.
Mobile Coupons: Otherwise known as, Show-and-save Coupons. This niche is still small, but will certainly be growing as applications for iPhone and Droid continue to develop. So far the flagship for Show-and-Save digital coupons is Target. Sign up here to receive monthly text messages with a link to store coupons and a corresponding barcode image. At checkout, hand your phone to the cashier and they will scan the barcode image to redeem the coupon! JCPenney and soon Fast Food chains will also be using these show-and-save style coupons.
Consumers Go “Krazy”!
Today’s savvy coupon shopper is younger, richer, more educated and better looking than the coupon shoppers of the last two decades! Okay, okay, so maybe the better looking thing is just my opinion, plus nobody looked good in the eighties, but you get the idea. The stigma surrounding coupon use is lifting and it’s becoming chic to clip coupons and more fun than ever to get stuff from the grocery store for absolutely Free!
Brainy Coupon Ladies (and gents): Did you know that adults with college degrees are almost twice as likely to have used coupons in the past six months as those who didn’t graduate from high school? Strategic shopping makes a lot of sense and savvy consumers are not letting any of those extra dollars go to waste. Digital couponing and users of coupon websites like TheKrazyCouponLady.com are also anchored by intelligent readerships. The statistics show that users of digital coupons are especially better educated than users of newspaper coupons and the general population.
Wealthy Coupon Ladies (and gents): And now for my favorite statistic. One common misconception is that those who use coupons do so because they are destitute and have no other option but to demean themselves (spoken with deep sarcasm) by clipping coupons! Oh contrare! Buckle up for this statistic! The consumer who prints digital coupons has an average household income of . . . . wait for it. . . . $97,000! Those who earn a household income of 100,000 or more are twice as likely to have redeemed coupons printed from an online source in the past six months than adults with a household income less than $35,000.
So come on all you “Coupon Virgins”; it’s time to give this Extreme Couponing a try! You’ll be in good company and you’ll be riding a digital couponing wave that’s just getting set to pick up steam!
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