Online Coupons vs. Traditional Coupons

The urge to constantly look for good deals is on the rise among all consumer segments. Recession is one of the factors responsible for encouraging such behavior. More and more customers are visiting daily deal sites and searching for mobile and online coupons.

The popularity of television shows such as ‘Extreme Couponing’ that help shoppers save a considerable amount of money with strategic visits to supermarkets is also increasing. Marketers often wonder whether traditional coupons in a Sunday newspaper or online ones are more useful.

As far as redemption rates are concerned, online coupons seem to be the clear winners. The results of a study carried out by NCH Marketing Services indicate that instantly redeemable coupons featured over product packages have the highest redemption rate at 22.6%.

Online home-printed coupons have the second highest redemption rate at 16.9%. The redemption rate of free standing newspaper coupons was found to be the lowest at 0.8-0.9%. NCH study also indicates that compared to last year, 15% more online promotions were distributed in the first half of this year.

Increase in the number of online coupons offered by marketers and growing familiarity with them are probably the main reasons for high online coupon redemption rates. Free standing newspaper coupons have a wide reach, which can be a reason for low redemption rates.

Online offers on the other hand are more likely to reach interested customers because of targeted marketing and opt-in email campaigns. Regardless of the format chosen, coupons are likely to remain an important company internet marketing tactic in the near future.