Consumers are continuing to increase their use of coupons, even though manufacturers are making fewer of them available, and are making them more difficult to redeem by shortening their expiration dates and requiring multiple purchases, according to NCH Marketing.
Marketers distributed 167 billion consumer packaged goods (CPG) coupons during the first half of 2011, down 6% from the same period in 2010. More than a quarter (27%) of CPG coupons required multiple purchases in the first half of 2011, up from 24% in first-half 2010. Consumers were given an average of 10.1 weeks to redeem each coupon, down from 11.3 weeks in 2010.
Consumers redeemed 1.75 billion coupons in the first half of 2011, up 3% from the previous year. Consumers saved an average of $1.57 per coupon — a total of $2 billion in the first half of the year, 5% more than in the first half of 2010.
The behavior indicates a long-term shift toward a focus on value and careful spending, according to the researchers. The expanding availability of digital coupons — which consumers may consider more convenient to access and use — may also be a factor.
Source: “Mid-Year 2011 Coupon Facts Report,” July 2011, NCH Marketing Services, Charlie Brown, VP Marketing, 155 Pfingsten Rd., Deerfield, IL 60015; 847-317-5500; NCHanalyticalservices@nchmarketing.com; www.nchmarketing.com.
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