Consumers Say They’ll Keep Using Coupons After Economy Picks Up; Digital Forms Are Gaining Popularity

Nearly eight in 10 U.S. consumers (78%) used coupons regularly in 2010, and a third (33%) say they used more of them in 2010 than in the previous year, according to NCH Marketing. The total number of coupons distributed by marketers of packaged goods grew 7% between 2009 and 2010 to 332 billion.

Redemption of coupons increased 3% during this time; consumers used a total of 3.3 billion coupons to purchase packaged goods in 2010, saving a total of $3.7 billion in the process. Redemption of grocery coupons increased 10% to 2.2 billion coupons during that time.

While consumers are using more coupons for groceries, their use of coupons for health and beauty products declined 8% between 2009 and 2010 to 1.1 billion coupons redeemed, though it’s still higher than the pre-recession figure of 0.9 billion in 2006.

Nearly nine in 10 consumers (89%) say they incorporate coupons when making their shopping lists, compared to 78% who used them to plan their lists in 2007. Among consumers who have felt the need to use more coupons due to their financial situation, the majority plan to continue using them. 

While consumers still want (and need to) save money by using coupons, they don’t want to spend a lot of time with the scissors to do so. Easier-to-use methods such as digital, instant, and shelf coupons are gaining in popularity.

Digital coupons are the fastest growing coupon format; distribution increased 37% between 2009 and 2010. Redemption of Internet coupons grew 81%, instant redeemable coupons grew 44%, and shelf pad coupons grew 21% between 2009 and 2010, according to Inmar. At the same time, redemption of free-standing insert coupons dropped 11%.

Digital coupon users are more affluent and highly educated than either members of the general population or users of traditional coupons, according to a separate report by Coupons.com. The average annual household income among those who print out digital coupons is $105,000, 26% higher than the national average. More than a third (36%) have college degrees, compared to 28% of users of newspaper coupons and 26% of the general population.

More than seven in 10 U.S. shoppers (73%) have used printable Internet coupons, according to Catapult/Ipsos OTX data cited by Coupons.com. Among those who use online coupons, 30% haven’t looked at a Sunday newspaper in the past six months.

Although digital coupon use is growing faster than use of traditional coupon formats, print coupons remain the most widely used form, according to Experian/Simmons.

Over two thirds of U.S. adults (68%) use print coupons, compared with 22% who use digital coupons (as of February 2011). Interestingly, while owners of iPhones are more likely than others to use digital coupons (34% of iPhone owners vs. 21% of non-owners), they’re more likely to use printed than digital ones.

Coupon use increases with education; 78% of those with college degrees plan to use coupons to save on rising grocery costs, compared with 51% of those with less than high school diplomas, according to a Harris Interactive study for Coupons.com.

Women (78%) are more likely than men (66%) to cite coupons as a money-saving strategy; they’re also more likely to use tactics such as comparing unit prices (75% vs. 67%) and stocking up on goods when they’re on sale (68% vs. 60%).

Almost three quarters of U.S. adults (74%) say they expect coupons and special offers to be much more important in their purchase decisions in the near future, according to The NPD Group.

When asked what they expect to do more often in six months than they currently do, 31% say they’ll be using coupons from newspapers or magazines to purchase food and beverages, and 24% say they’ll be searching for manufacturers’ coupons online. [Consumer Spending & Attitudes, Retail/Service Sector]

Sources: “Annual Coupon Facts, 2011” NCH Marketing, Analytical Services Team, 155 Pfingsten Rd., #200, Deerfield IL 60015; 847-317-5500; nchanalyticalservices@
nchmarketing.com; www.nchmarketing.com. Price: This study is available online with registration.

“2010 Coupon Facts (Updated January 2011),” Inmar, Matthew Tilley, Director, Interactive Communication, 2601 Pilgrim Ct., Winston-Salem, NC 27106; 336-631-2500; solutions@inmar.com; www.inmar.com. Price: Contact for information.

“Digital Coupons Trends Report 2010,” Coupons.com, Shachar Torem, VP of Sales, 400 Logue Ave., Mountain View, CA 94043; 650-605-4600; also, Patrick Crisp, patrick@coupons.com; www.coupons.com. Price: Contact for information.

“Print Coupon Use Strong Despite Increase in Digital Coupons,” March 31, 2011, Experian Simmons, John Fetto, Senior Marketing Manager, 475 Anton Blvd., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; 714-830-7000; john.fetto@experian.com; www.experian.com. Also, “Experian Simmons 2010 U.S. Household Consumer Trend and Benchmark Report.” Price: Selected data are available online with registration.

“The Economy Tracker: March 2011,” and “What’s Next on the Road to Recovery – June 2010,” The NPD Group, Charlie Camarato, 900 West Shore Rd., Port Washington, NY 11050; 516-625-0700; contactnpd@npd.com. Also, Kim McLynn; 847-692-1781; kim.mclynn@npd.com; www.npd.com. Price: Contact for information.

© Copyright 2011, EPM Communications, Inc. May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.

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