Last year witnessed 12.2 per cent surge in consumer savings via coupons. Discount enthusiasts saved $4.6 billion with the help of 3.5 billion coupons in 2011, according to a latest report by NCH. Numbers of coupons climbed six per cent over the previous year, said the company of Valassis (NYSE: VCI), a leading media and marketing organization.
US consumers are getting price-conscious day by day as their usage of coupons/vouchers in making purchases is on the rise. Frugality-driven shopping is conspicuous whether it is about purchasing of branded products like Nike Budmo snowboard pants or non-branded items.
Last year witnessed 12.2 per cent surge in consumer savings via coupons. Discount enthusiasts saved $4.6 billion with the help of 3.5 billion coupons in 2011, according to a latest report by NCH. Numbers of coupons climbed six per cent over the previous year, said the company of Valassis (NYSE: VCI), a leading media and marketing organization.
Recessionary spinoffs are yet to fizzle out as consumers continue to confront with the price hikes since 2007. Retailers that come up with considerable markdowns can alone restore the consumer confidence.
And, they are doing it to a tee in view of the growing popularity of free standing inserts including co-op, solo, and shared mail. Over the past few years, new distribution media format namely online coupons have made inroad into the couponing industry.
Though digital coupons constitute just about one per cent of all coupons distributed in the US, yet they enjoyed 11 per cent growth last year.
There are many internet platforms that retailers use to spread printable coupons, paperless offers, digital vouchers, and promotion codes across the wide base of netizens. Daily deal sites, directories, review sites, etc. are common B2C distribution outlets.
For example, Dealaboo.com that is a daily deals discount offers aggregator features motley goods and services bearing special prices.
Information avenues are not limited for customers in this age of modern technologies. They can scout around best of desirable things on any of the internet-enabled devices. Online shopping is no more a tricky job in the mobile environment.
Smartphones provide shopping experience that is not different from that in the desktop environment. Research reports are disclosing the growing usage of handheld devices for product searches and shopping.
A consumer survey by internet advertising bureau (IAB) revealed that 38 per cent of the respondents compare prices of products in-store on smartphones while near half of all leave no stone unturned to cross-match prices on their mobile phones. Eight hundreds smartphone owners participated in the survey.
This, among other things, shows how sturdy has now shoppers' decision-making power become. When they are to buy Nike Budmo snowboard pants, snow gears, or goggles and doubtful about the price structure, what they need to do is just type description/product name in a tablet or mobile and the result is a long list of products. PC users can do this within the comfort of home before making shopping order online.
Information deluge leaves netizens baffled and sprouts a different consumer psyche uncertain and sometimes unpredictable. Once flown out of a website, visiting customers are not likely to return. Experts issue advisory to retailers to tune in with changing consumer behavior.
"Those brands and retailers that can best accommodate this changing dynamic will be best placed to generate new sales and capitalize on consumers' desire to use their smartphone for research and purchase more in the future," said GfK research director Ryan Garner.
Author Resource:
Tariq Saeedi is a couponing industry’s analyst holding journalism and marketing degrees and contributing articles to digital and print media.
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