GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- Couponing has come a long way since the very first paper coupons were handed out to prospective customers roughly 125 years ago.
While consumers still clip coupons from newspapers and other paper sources, digital coupons are making it easier for shoppers to save money. Paperless coupon programs have become increasingly available over the last 10 years in the grocery, drug-store and mass channels, providing consumers with a choice on how to save.
According to online statistics portal Statista, more than 310 million consumer packaged goods (CPG) coupons were distributed in 2014; nearly half of these were redeemed in the grocery channel, even though convenience stores outnumber grocery stores 3 to 1 in the United States. Compared to the number of grocery stores, less than 10% of total coupon redemptions occurred in the convenience-store channel.
As more companies go green, the pressure to find the most sustainable marketing channel to reach consumers grows. Mobile technologies make this goal a reality, allowing CPGs to partner with publishers and brands to not only provide access to their preferred audience, but also as an opportunity to convert new customers.
According to a GasBuddy survey in April 2015, 81% of their members would be influenced to try a product if a digital coupon was offered within their app. Furthermore, 76% of their members polled said the offering of digital coupons would affect their decision on where they filled up on gas (if the price of gas was the same), thus increasing revenue and loyalty for the participating convenience stores while also boosting sales for CPGs.
What’s more, mobile coupons can be targeted to a specific audience, often delivering redemption rates that are 10 times higher than that of paper programs; correspondingly, they often deliver greater cost-efficiency. Thus, mobile coupons have become a critical component of a brand’s marketing strategy.
These types of programs create an opportunity for convenience stores, CPG companies and marketers to communicate directly with the consumer—and for consumers, they provide a way to save without the hassle of clipping and organizing paper coupons. Consumers definitely like deals, but the key is to deliver deals where and when consumers want them: when they are about to walk into a store.
GasBuddy’s intention with its new Coupon Portal is to deliver the new incarnation of the Sunday FSI, but built especially for the gas/c-store channel and accessible any time, any day of the week, to its shoppers. For more information on how to tap into the mobile coupon industry for a convenience-store audience, contact GasBuddy Coupon Portal at couponportal@gasbuddy.com.
This post is sponsored by GasBuddy