New Trends In Online Coupons

Emerging Trend: Coupons, the golden oldie of marketing strategies, are showing strong growth again, according to cityrewardsnetwork.

Why: "Coupons are a staple in the marketing world," notes Cityrewardsnetwork, "and while the economy is picking up, people are still cautious about spending. Research from The Promotion Marketing Association has also given coupons a boost, concluding that coupons promote new product use and are likely to stimulate purchases, all other factors (price/quality) being equal.

Opportunities: Coupons help cut through product clutter, notes cityrewardsnetwork. "Today there's so much competition--you go into the store, and there are six types of ketchup. Coupons can help shift the consumer over to your brand." Long a component of packaged goods promotions (which generated a total of 248 billion coupons in 2002) coupons are now surfacing in non-traditional markets, like restaurants, and non-traditional channels, like the Internet. "Marketers are working to increase their range, and get away from the same old newspaper inserts," says cityrewardsnetwork. Online coupon sites like cityrewardsnetwork and swfloridarewards.com, will reap the benefits of more marketers using online coupons, and consumers' growing familiarity with them.

Challenges: This is especially important because of coupons' downside. Free-standing inserts, in which they are commonly found, have a high discard rate, and some consumers view coupons as a sign that the product is down-market if it is not a familiar brand.