Coupon Use Rises 27%, Drives Redemption to 3.3 Billion in 2009
Spurred by a sour economy, consumers used 27% more coupons in 2009. This renewed interest sparked the first annual increase in coupon use since 1992, and drove redemptions to 3.3 billion. The rising trend started in October of 2008, coinciding with news of the US financial crisis. That led to five consecutive quarters of double-digit growth (versus the same period of the previous year).
Brands Make More Coupons Available
While consumers used an amazing $3.5 billion worth of coupons, brands did their part by supplying an unprecedented number of incentives. Despite the tight economy, marketers boosted the number of coupons available to the highest level recorded since Inmar has been tracking the data. Brands issued 367 billion coupons, at an average face value of $1.44 – an investment that strongly indicated that they were committed to promotion.
All of the Promotional Bang, Less Promotional Buck
But even as brands increased the number of coupons available, they did try to mitigate the cost of increased redemption by maintaining face values and keeping expiration periods in check. In 2009, face values declined by a penny, reversing a multi-year trend of increasing values. Expiration periods were shortened by 10% last year, despite years of virtually no change.
Food Categories Drive Growth Early
During the first half of the year, coupons for food categories drove the increases in distribution and redemption. Consumers were responding to higher food prices and a growing concern for making ends meet in an economy that looked very dismal. Marketers were using coupons to minimize losses to low price competitors, such as store brands.
That particularly strong first half combined with solid growth throughout the year to make food category coupons the leading driver for both distribution and redemption growth in 2009.
Non-Food Categories Take Over Late in the Year
By mid-year, the economic future looked less grim. Then, coupons shifted from primarily being a way to provide essentials like food toward being a way to enable small household luxuries. That’s when redemption growth moved to non-food categories. Second and third quarter both saw coupon redemption percent changes in the mid-forties (compared to the same period the previous year) for non-food category coupons.
Where is All of This Going?
Of course, we don’t know how long this will continue. But it does appear that the American public has been fundamentally changed by the events of 2009. The economic downturn instilled a drive to be smart and frugal about spending and coupons definitely have a role in fulfilling it.
For the foreseeable future, coupons are back on shoppers’ radar.
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