What Role Will Coupon Marketing Play for Marketers in 2020?

The Internet has drastically changed the landscape of shopping and has accelerated the evolution of the coupon. No longer are consumers content with just clipping coupons from the Sunday newspaper. 

Finding discounts has become a highly-competitive digital race, and a secret weapon for digital marketers everywhere. So, what’s next for coupon marketing in 2020?

Why Digital Coupons are Big Business

It’s become so simple to search for coupon codes at major sites like Groupon and CouponBirds that consumers have come to expect it. Thrifty shoppers will search for a discount first and then make a purchasing decision. 

Bottom line? Businesses need to be prepared to cater to this growing demographic of casual and extreme couponers.

According to a recent study, 8 million people in the US redeemed digital coupons in 2016, and that number is expected to grow to over 145 million by 2021. 

Globally, an estimated 31 billion digital coupons were redeemed in 2019, so there’s no doubt that 2020 is going to be another big year for the digital coupon.

How Marketers Can Leverage Coupons in 2020

A smart shopper will always search for the best deal before making a purchase, and consumers in general have become more savvy. Having coupons as part of the 2020 marketing strategy is essential for brands that want to be relevant in the digital coupon age.

But first, brands need to understand the profiles of their target audience. 

Tricia Liu, COO at CouponBirds, provides this advice on building a coupon marketing strategy in 2020, “To develop a successful Coupon Marketing Strategy and increase your conversion rates, you need to define your audience spending habits, specify the time of biggest traffic to fit coupon timing, and keep an eye on significant dates such as birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Place customers in appropriate segments in your coupon system.”

In addition to understanding the statistics of spending habits and traffic, there are a few coupon tactics that have proven more successful than others in studies. 

For example, an undecided shopper that has filled their online cart is less likely to abandon the purchase if offered a coupon code at checkout. Similarly, 63% of consumers said they would reconsider an abandoned cart if offered a coupon code. 

One study also showed that 65% of consumers reported that online vouchers convinced them to finalize an undecided purchase. 

The best practices when it comes to coupon marketing are to provide vouchers before the cart is filled, at checkout, and in a follow up email for abandoned carts.

Undecided shoppers are a goldmine for brands, especially when it comes to digital coupon codes. Offering an online coupon could be the deciding factor between one brand or website versus another for a similar product.