Once ‘coupon’ a time

Since the dawn of the internet, every corner of commerce has been in a constant state of reinvention as new technologies are leveraged to optimize the buying and selling experience. We’ve seen targeting and customer communications efforts streamlined and revolutionized, in-store and e-commerce customer experiences completely overhauled, and breakthroughs in logistics and inventory management. Yet for the past 100 years, this digital transformation has mostly missed the couponing arena — until now.

Why has it taken decades for retailers to deliver customers coupons to their phones that they can scan at a store and receive their discount? There is an investment in hardware required for retailers to be able to scan phones to redeem coupons. The back-end technology is there, but without point-of-sale technology capable of translating the coupon, it’s nearly impossible to reach mass adoption.

The pandemic has forced retailers’ hands to invest in new point-of-sale technology for the purposes of contactless payments. With a greater emphasis on safety, the old way of doing business through cash or card transactions is being phased out. This rise in contactless payments is also seeing a rise in customer reliance on digital wallets and smartphones as the principal source of payment.

A coupon can increase foot traffic and pickup/delivery orders for your store, which can lead to higher sales and revenue. Using coupons and free one-time-use offers, such as new mover offers, can help create brand awareness and provide a quick infusion of cash for your business. It allows you to control the special offer, as well as the timing of the deal.

In 2019, 92% of consumers used coupons when shopping, according to a Statista survey of 1,000 people. Seventy-seven percent of shoppers say that discounts can influence where they shop, according to a study by Forrester Consulting. Two-thirds of shoppers surveyed looked for a discount before even beginning to shop.

One of the advantages of coupons in the digital realm is the ability to offer discounts or free one-time-use offers over a variety of platforms to appeal to different customers. You can choose from online printable coupons, manufacturer coupons, in-store apps, coupon codes for online purchases, rebates, new mover offers and more. Approximately 40% of shoppers look for digital coupons before shopping, and 51% look for paper coupons. 73% of shoppers prefer to shop at stores from which they’ve received personalized discount offers.

With this digital transformation, CPG brands will also be granted the gift of agility. Instead of the required 2-12 weeks to launch a paper-based coupon campaign and then waiting an additional four to six weeks for results, brands will be able to deploy value to consumers’ mobile phones instantly and have near real-time insights into which discounts are being used, where they’re being used, and on what products.

Promo codes are great, but you need to design them thoughtfully to encourage more purchases. Limit customers’ access to promo codes to convey exclusivity. You can also create limited-time promo codes to prompt a sense of urgency, like a 24-hour sale. It sounds counterintuitive, but limits can actually increase your sales. However, a 5% discount isn’t going to excite shoppers unless you’re selling a $1,000 product. Give a generous-enough discount that will get your shoppers excited.

Rewards programs can retain customers by providing incentives for customers to continue to visit your business. Many rewards programs offer coupons as an incentive. As many as 84% of consumers say they will remain devoted to a brand that offers such a program, according to research from Nielsen. Coupons also offer a way to increase your online following because many consumers follow brands on social media to get coupons.

Consumers want a frictionless experience at check-out, coupled with the public health benefits of not having to touch plastic, cash, or paper coupons. Some retailers, like BJ’s, have postponed acceptance of paper coupons for hygiene reasons during the pandemic. Brands have been searching for these solutions for decades, but it took a pandemic to force a shift in thinking among leading retailers.

As with any upheaval, the conditions that bring us to certain points may not always be pretty, but the push towards a digital transformation in the couponing space may signal a revolution in a sector of the industry that has demanded disruption for decades.

TMP’s role

TMP focuses on the customer journey from start to finish, including the digital and physical management of products. To achieve a complete resolution, we can ship or retrieve consumer products and send coupons or refund checks directly from our fulfillment team. You may have hundreds of products and maintaining a library of coupons can be incredibly cumbersome. TMP simplifies that by printing only the paper that is needed!