Nielsen: Coupons making a comeback as a marketing tool
Published April 19, 2010
The classic image of the coupon as a flimsy paper construction to be clipped from the newspaper by conscientious shoppers has changed radically over the past decade. Researchers at Nielsen report that the online coupon has taken off in a big way.
The report says that "with the economic recovery taking hold slowly and without significant employment growth, expect coupon use to continue. As long as Americans feel unsure about their personal finances or confident about their jobs, they are going to continue to look at ways to save and get the most for their money."
Nielsen reports that internet coupon redemptions grew by fully 263 percent in 2009, comfortably outpacing those spread by direct mail and magazine pop-ups. However, it must be noted that overall coupon use grew that year, and that both direct mail and magazine coupons are still a very viable marketing method.
The coupon could be an excellent outlet for the digital creative types on a marketing team, experts say. With fewer limits on the design and format of a coupon when it is presented as digital content, creative new presentations could become popular.