Economy Gives Web Coupons a Boost

AUGUST 5, 2008

Users willing to trade e-mail addresses for $2

The Internet is now the leading source of coupons for printable coupon users in the US, according to newly released data from a Simmons Market Research Bureau study sponsored by Coupons, Inc.

Nearly eight out of 10 printable coupon users said the Internet was one of the main places they went for coupons, while only 73.5% named newspapers as a top source. "Printable coupons" are just that: online coupons that may be printed out and redeemed in-store, as opposed to coupon codes intended for online use.

Among all consumers—not just printable coupon users—the Sunday newspaper is still the top coupon source, according to a July 2008 survey by Scarborough Research. The company said 53% of households usually found their coupons there, while 11% normally went to the Internet.

Coupons are a strong incentive, according to the Coupons, Inc. study. Nearly two-thirds of printable coupon users said they would disclose their e-mail address for a coupon worth $1, and more than three-quarters said they would give their e-mail address for a $2 coupon.

Consumers may be using coupons in part to maintain their brand preferences during the economic slowdown. More than six out of 10 coupon searches in June 2008 were for specific brands, according to Hitwise data.

Survey: Online Coupon Usage Up 39% Since 2005

by Karlene Lukovitz, Thursday, Jul 31, 2008 7:00 AM ET

The number of American adults using online coupons rose by 39% to 36 million between 2005 and 2008, according to a new survey conducted by Simmons/Experian Research and Coupons, Inc.

Online users account for nearly one-quarter (24%) of the total 148 million consumers who use coupons, compared to 22% market penetration as of last year.

Meanwhile, newspaper coupon users declined from 96 million in 2005 to 92 million last year.

Overall coupon usage has declined by 1 million since 2005, the survey found.

The shift toward greater online coupon usage is not surprising--given that online penetration among the U.S. adult population jumped from 46% in 2000 to 71% last year, while newspaper penetration declined from 65% to 55%, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project and the Newspaper Association of America.

Demographically, 29% of online coupon users and 23% of newspaper coupon users are under age 35. (Nearly half of online coupon users are between the ages of 22 and 44.) More online users have household incomes over $60,000 (61%, versus 57% of newspaper coupon users). In addition, 36% of online users, versus 29% of newspaper users, have children under age 18.

Other findings:

* 88% of coupon users overall say that they use coupons to save money on the brands they usually buy, 47% say they use them to "stock up" on brands they usually buy, 47% use them to try new products, 41% use them to try a brand that's "usually too expensive" for them, and 29% use them to buy more of a product than they would normally buy.

* Most users find coupons in multiple channels: 79% on the Net, 74% in newspapers, 68% store coupons, 66% instant redeemable, 64% free-standing inserts, 61% store circulars, 60% on-pack, 51% electronic checkout, and 48% direct mail, with descending percentages for sources such as in-pack, shelf dispensers, magazines and handouts.

* 43% access printable online coupons at general savings (coupon-oriented) sites, 32% on manufacturers' promotional sites, 31% through manufacturers' brand sites, and 31% through retailer sites.

* Half (51%) of online coupon users go to a manufacturer's or retailer site or subscribe to a company's enewsletter in order to find coupons, while 46% do so to find deals and promotions. About 27% are looking for recipes, 23% are seeking information about product features/benefits, 21% are looking for new ideas, 14% want product nutritional or health information, and 7% do so for "fun" or to play an online game.

* Nearly three-quarters (74%) of online coupon users say they use coupons for frozen foods. Other most-used coupon categories include refrigerated foods (71%), dry grocery (67%), household goods (65%), personal care (58%), beverages (57%), healthcare products (54%), non-fast food restaurants (49%), and fast-food restaurants (47%).

* Even in the categories where online coupons are most heavily used, significant numbers of consumers who do not currently use coupons in these categories indicate that they would like to do so. "Enormous couponing upside still exists for most product categories," note the researchers.

* More than 80% of online coupon users research products or services online before making an offline purchase. Most (59%) go directly to a manufacturer's site, and 54% use a search engine to go to a manufacturer's site.

* 60% of online coupon users consider the Net a "very" or "extremely" important source for finding product information, and 53% consider it very or extremely important for shopping for non-food items.

* 58% of online coupon users agree that products and manufacturers that offer online coupons are more likely to come up with products and services that they will use and enjoy, and about the same number believe that such companies "care about keeping them as customers."

* 77% say that the value of a coupon affects their willingness to provide personal information. More than 70% say they would provide their email addresses and first and last names, and answer survey questions, in return for a $2 coupon.

* Seventy-three percent say they are more likely to open an email if a coupon is offered, and 64% are more likely to click on an ad banner or search listing if they know that a coupon is offered.

The study, the "2008 Printable Coupon Consumer Pulse," was conducted in March and based on compiled national consumer research from Simmons and a custom survey of more than 2,000 printable coupon users. Coupons, Inc. owns the Coupons.com printable coupons site. The full report is downloadable at couponsinc.com.

The Emergence of PepperJam Network

It was no surprise when MarketingSherpa released their latest reporting, basically stating “PepperJam Network Explodes onto the Affiliate Marketing Scene with Unprecedented Growth and Industry Support“. In the report from MarketingSherpa, they break down some heavy numbers on the largest affiliate networks in the game today, and it’s no surprise to see PepperJam Network giving the big players a run for their money. Here are just a few of the big numbers we are seeing from PepperJam Network after just 5 months from their network launch date. (Results from Partnercentric surveyed top partners)

Networks with Active Affiliates
In the first chart, we clearly see all of the big players in the game which have had networks for years, and it’s really no surprise to see these names listed. However, in the fifth position, PepperJam Network is quickly gathering market share and soon enough, may even pass some of these well known affiliate networks.

Where Affiliates Make Money
The next chart shows which of the top networks affiliates are also working with. All of the same affiliate networks listed in the first chart appear again, but not in the same order. Shareasale affiliate activity crushes Linkshare, even though they have a larger following… and the same can almost be seen with Performics and PepperJam. Performics has a higher following in the top chart, but nearly tied with PepperJam Network in affiliate activity.

Why Affiliates Choose Some Networks Over Others
We are all members of different affiliates networks, but the majority of us only make money with a couple of the many we are affiliates with… why is that? As part of the survey, affiliates were asked the same question and their response was the following:

For more details and the full report, be sure to head over to MarketingSherpa. I’m sure in the followup report, we will see even more promising numbers from PepperJam Network.

What’s New at PepperJam Network?
Based off the report from MarketingSherpa, PepperJam Network is showing some very promising numbers. In addition to their growth in the affiliate space, I also wanted to keep you updated with some news surrounding their network.

- Make Money with eBay: If you ever made money with the eBay affiliate program, you were probably making it through Commission Junction. On April 1st, the eBay Partner Network launched as they removed themselves from Commission Junction. Just recently, eBay and PepperJam Network teamed up to offer affiliates another alternative for advertising their network. Now you can run eBay directly through PepperJam Network. (For all affiliates running Build a Niche Software, the ability to run and track through PepperJam is now available)

- Tons of New Offers: Since going live, PepperJam Network has added an amazing amount of new advertisers to the network. Now with over 250 offers, they are quickly becoming the prominent network to make serious money with. Keep in mind, the 250 offers I mentioned are each their own web site and brand name!

- $10 Signup Bonus to New Affiliates: With the explosion of growth PepperJam Network is seeing, they are only pushing harder to make this growth continue. If you aren’t currently an affiliate with PepperJam Network, join now and you will receive $10 in your account once you are approved as an affiliate. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you join the PepperJam Network. If you’re already an affiliate, be sure to login and see what offers were recently added to the network.

As an affiliate, what makes you choose certain networks over each other and what would make PepperJam Network or any of the other networks mentioned, be your network of choice?

Multi-Channel Shopping Changing Retail

JUNE 12, 2008

Bargain hunting reduces loyalty

US consumers are increasingly using multiple channels to shop and buy. While researching online and then buying in-store has become common, this consumer behavior is changing consumer loyalties and spending. Multi-channel shopping is also changing how retailers sell their goods.

Consumers in the US who shop using multiple channels are more likely to purchase from multiple providers, according to an April 2008 study by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC).

"Multi-channel customers are often the most astute about pricing, and as such, may not be the most loyal," said Jill Glathar, vice president at ORC, in a statement.

The good news is that multi-channel shoppers tended to spend nearly twice as much as consumers who used only one channel.

ORC also noted that multi-channel shopping varied by industry, with far fewer consumers using multiple channels to shop at specialty stores than at big box retailers such as Home Depot or mass merchants such as Wal-Mart.

Those large multi-channel retailers also receive slightly more of their sales on the Internet than do total multi-channel retailers (35% vs. 31%), and 12 percentage points less of their sales come through stores, according to a February 2008 study commissioned by IBM and SAP and conducted by Retail Systems Research.

Multi-channel shoppers who research products online and buy in-store are having a greater effect on store sales than on Web sales.

eMarketer forecasts that in 2008, Web-influenced store sales will reach $625.2 billion, compared with $158.3 billion in retail e-commerce sales. From 2007 to 2012, Web-influenced store sales are expected to grow at a 19% average annual rate, compared with a 12% rate for e-commerce sales.

Another way to look at the numbers: In 2008, online product research generated $3.95 in offline sales for every $1 in online sales. By 2012, the proportion will be $4.68 for every $1.

Learn all the methods consumers use to communicate with businesses. Read eMarketer's Multi-Channel Retailing report.