Coupons

Small Businesses Utilizing Coupons

Doing business in today’s market means that the practice of caring about your customer and taking good care of them – is so that they do business with you forever. What better way to show your customers that you care, but to give them something. Couponing, a phenomenon largely dormant for the last 20 years, has found a resurrection in the form of online media. The rise in coupon offers and redemption since pre-recession times and the evolution of online couponing is starting to gain a significant amount of popularity. What is also surprising is the demographic of coupons being used especially over the past 5 years with the economic downfall.

Americans have been familiar with coupons for over 100 years. Currently however, there has been enormous growth in coupon use and as a result, spending and savings are up. Across the board, more and more small businesses are offering coupons, and the total of Internet coupons has staggeringly increased upwards of over 300% in the last 3 years. As more small business retailers get online, that number will continue to grow. By 2014, the number of mobile coupon users is projected to grow a staggering 1200%.

With an increasing number of small businesses offering deals, it can be quite difficult to actually find them. In the past, the fastest way to shop and save was by scouring the Sunday print media for coupons prior to purchasing; a time-consuming process often not worth the amounts saved.

Consumer demands are changing. Customers want more immediate access to the best relevant deals and are using the Internet as the primary way to redeem coupons. Now, 20% of all smartphone users use mobile coupons and the demographics of coupon users are shifting. For small businesses, this is a prime market and a great opportunity to offer chances for saving within the overlooked benefits of online couponing.

In fact, according to a recent survey by Forrester Research, companies that offer coupons are viewed more favorably by consumers than those that do not. The result of this is increased brand loyalty, where savings opportunities often determine the final purchase.

Consumers who save by using coupons offered by small businesses contribute in two meaningful ways. First, they save money for themselves. Second, they support a small business that otherwise may not have had the sale, improving their chances for finding a similar deal from the same place. Ultimately, this online coupon renaissance is a win-win, for consumers and small businesses alike.

What is now becoming an integral role, a role that saving money has in customers’ shopping habits – spending may be necessary, but saving is the key.