Nearly half of all consumers prefer digital coupons and mobile coupons over printed paper coupons (Source: Mobile Coupon Research Results.), so it’s no surprise that more and more marketers are employing digital coupon marketing programs into their mix.
Mobile coupons not only give more consumers what they want, but they also present marketers with new and improved possibilities for driving store traffic and purchases.
Here are five digital coupon marketing strategies being deployed by retailers today to drive store visits and incremental sales..
- On-demand coupons for store shoppers
- Offer digital coupons via SMS
- Single-use coupons to control offers
- Digital coupon wallet for ongoing offers
- Grow SMS list with mobile coupon offers
1. Offer in-store, on-demand mobile coupons to incentivize shoppers
Shoppers respond to in-store ads for on-demand digital coupons at higher rates than other types of coupon ads, such as online ads. (Source: Mobile Coupon Research Results.) Retailers offer instant digital coupons via store signage, directing shoppers to send a text to a short-code to receive the coupon via a text message. Our retail customers are realizing redemption rates between 30%-50% for on-demand digital coupons.
2. Offer digital coupons via SMS
Retailers are having a great deal of success driving store traffic and short-term revenue by offering digital coupons to their SMS marketing lists. Retailers have found that SMS text coupons help to create urgency and drive near-term revenue.
As we learned from the research, consumers plan to redeem SMS text within a few days, which makes text message coupon delivery an effective way for marketers to rapidly move the needle. An interesting stat from the mobile coupon research report shows that 85% of consumers will redeem a mobile coupon received via SMS within one week; 25% say they will redeem the coupons within three days.
3. Employ Single-Use Coupons to Control Offers and Enhance Personalization
Research shows that digital coupons and discount codes often get used by consumers more than once or get shared online, which can cause several problems for personalization efforts, such as:
- Attributing redemptions accurately
- Conducting valid a/b tests
- Maintaining the integrity of a personalization effort for a particular customer
And, most of all, retailers know that it often takes higher-value discounts to get customers to take action, but it’s risky to offer higher-value discounts if a customer will try to use them more than once, or share those discounts online.
CodeBroker’s customers are addressing these challenges by employing single-use coupons and SMS Text coupons, enabling them to deliver the higher-value offers that work – without the risk. Single-use coupons use a security model that ensures that:
- The customer always receives the same barcode regardless of the number of times, or channels, in which she requests the coupon.
- Once the coupon is used, it expires simultaneously and is marked as redeemed, across all channels.
- It is impossible for a customer to obtain a second copy of the coupon unless allowed by the retailer.
4. Utilize a Branded Digital Coupon Wallet as a Personalized Offer Center
Many of our clients have implemented our MyOffers digital coupon wallet to retain customer mindshare and drive ongoing purchases. A digital coupon wallet can serve as a personalized offer center for each customer. Retailers deliver and update mobile coupons, digital coupons, loyalty rewards, and offers directly to the customer’s digital coupon wallet. Customers have one convenient place to track and organize coupons and rewards from their mobile device or desktop.
A digital coupon wallet serves as shared real estate between the retailer and the customer, to help retailers to stay top of mind with each customer and drive more business. Rather than a shopper searching the Internet for deals, she won’t have to because the deal will be sitting right in her digital coupon wallet.
5. Grow SMS subscriber lists with mobile coupon offers
Retailers are having great success getting consumers to sign up for their SMS marketing lists by offering mobile coupons as sign-up incentives. Our customers have found that mobile coupon incentives are effective, not only for growing SMS subscriber lists, but also for driving customers to visit a store and make a purchase.
CodeBroker’s customers using our SmartJoin SMS list sign-up software are realizing up to a 50% increase in list sign-ups, as well as greater than 50% redemption rates on the mobile coupons they receive in return for signing up.
So there you have it – five proven digital coupon marketing strategies that some of the top retailers are employing today to drive store traffic, incremental purchases, and build ongoing loyalty. To learn more, I invite you to check out our mobile coupon platform page.