E-Coupons Shape Consumer Purchases: Study

According to data from Inmar Intelligence’s “2021 Promotion Industry Trends Analysis and July Shopper Insights Study,” 54% of all shoppers recently purchased a new brand because it was less expensive, and nearly a third of these shoppers were influenced by a digital coupon. The tech-enabled services company noted that these findings come at a time when the grocery industry is seeing price increases that have shoppers seeking ways to offset the blow to their wallets.

Consumer adoption of load-to-card (digital coupons) has been rising since 2018, surpassing free-standing inserts (FSIs), or paper coupons, in 2020, Inmar Intelligence found. Through August 2021, digital coupons have continued to lead in share of redemption volume, despite FSIs having nearly 20x the distribution volume. Specifically, Inmar Intelligence’s analysis found that digital coupon redemptions accounted for 33% of all coupon redemptions in the first half of 2021, while FSIs accounted for 24%. Overall digital coupon redemption volume for 2021 year to date experienced a 13% year-over-year increase from 2020, revealing an ongoing and increasingly strong demand for both the savings and convenience of e-coupons.

While shoppers’ use of digital incentives is growing, data from Inmar Intelligence showed that these digital incentives are greatly influencing purchase decisions. The data suggested that today’s consumers are open to trying new brands, and are often persuaded to do so by digital promotions. In July 2021, the highest rate of brand trial year to date was recorded, with 72% of all shoppers saying that they made a new brand purchase. Eighty-four percent using a coupon for a recent in-store purchase and 92% using a coupon for an online purchase said that the coupon changed their purchase decision, leading them to buy more, buy sooner or buy an item for the first time. 

Inmar Intelligence also found that almost 70% of loyalty members said that discounts and coupons are very important to them and are the reason that they join a loyalty program, with a majority (56%) saying that when they don’t use coupons, it adversely affects their family grocery budget. 

Additional findings include the following:

• 55% of respondents said that they’re very likely to clip a coupon if it’s provided to them 
• 58% said that they generally clip coupons at home before shopping, and 34% said that they clip while shopping in a store or online 
• 47% of respondents said that they find clipping digital coupons very easy
• Almost 30% said that they never forget that they have clipped coupons with them, and 20% said that they frequently forget
• 34% said that they always redeem qualifying digital offers, while 36% said that they forget about the offers, and 30% said that they have difficulty finding offers that are relevant to them
• 55% said that reminders about digital coupons would be very helpful, particularly in the form of in-app notifications, email reminders or texts

“Shoppers are continually looking for value and savings, now more than ever, and as their lives become increasingly digital, they are looking to digital methods to deliver savings,” noted Spencer Baird, EVP and president, martech at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Inmar Intelligence. “As we’ve seen in our research, digital incentives are driving shopper purchase decisions. Brands and retailers are now executing plans for Q4, and they need to ensure that they’ve integrated digital incentives into their plans in order to meet the sales and market share objectives they have in front of them. The flexibility, targeting, attribution and speed to market of digital incentives enable brands and retailers to meet both the needs of shoppers as well as their own objectives.”