http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/coupons_work_in_clipped_economy_5S6DvpvPrOVRompaPpylOP#ixzz1rZEmbRV0
Consumers are clipping mad, redeeming $4.6 billion in coupons last year — a whopping 34.6 percent rise from the pre-recession period of 2007.
“In tough times, people always look for ways to save money,” says Eric Beder, a retail analyst with Brean Murray, Carret and Co. “And coupons are a great way for doing just that.”
There were 3.5 billion coupons redeemed in 2011 — an increase of 6.1 percent from 2010. And this was a stunning 48.6 percent more than just five years ago, according to the US Consumer Coupon Facts Report released by NCH Marketing Services.
Consumers’ love of coupons isn’t surprising during down economic times.
According to a study by The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 69 percent of Americans and 88 percent of Web users search online for recession-related purposes.
Beder believes that many retailers are also learning how coupons can help them grow their customer base and reorganize their marketing strategy.
“Retailers view coupons as another way to drive sales, and the use of the Internet to send out coupons makes the cost even more attractive to them,” he said.
And websites like LivingSocial, Groupon and Facebook are already tempting shoppers with deals.
“Technology puts retailers in the driver’s seat,” said Scott Hirsch, founder of appsbar.com, a free online resource for businesses to build and publish applications dedicated to digital couponing. Retailers, he said, are willing to interact directly with customers via technological mediums in order to gain territory.
“Coupons will not go away,” concludes Steve Hoch, professor of marketing at Wharton University.
“Vigilant consumer behavior is obviously tied to economic cycles, and people use coupons because they are worth it,” Hoch says. “The only big change I see coming is how we interact with coupons through the Internet and mobile apps.”
