It's no secret that customers are busy. However, these days they are busier than ever before, and most of them just don't have time to clip coupons anymore. Think about it- clipping coupons can be a hassle. Customers have to find the coupons, clip the coupons, sort the coupons, organize the coupons, carry them with them, remember to use them, and discard them when they expire. It's just not worth the trouble for many customers.. If only there were a better way... Enter the world of mobile coupons. Never heard of them before? Wait until you hear how easy they are to use! If you are not sure about mobile coupons, think about it for a minute. What do customers have with them all of the time? Their smartphones of course! Mobile coupons are becoming more and more popular with consumers, since they are easy to use and redeem. Some merchants are slow to come to terms with the fact that consumers are shifting towards a more digital age of shopping, but the merchants who are jumping on the mobile coupon bandwagon are definitely seeing the results.
Today, the number of U.S. smartphone users using mobile coupons is 29.5 million, a significant rise from 2010 when 7.4 million used mobile coupons. By 2014, this figure is expected to rise further to 47.1 million, according to the BI Intelligence report. There is even a report from Juniper Research that estimates that by 2016, mobile coupon redemption will reach 8%, and that is a global number! You can find the full report here.
“There’s been a shift in merchants’ attitude,” said John Faith,senior vice president of mobile at WhaleShark Media. "Shoppers who have coupons are more likely to walk into a store or spend more on an e-commerce site", he said.
John Faith is not the only mobile coupon expert who agrees that this shift towards mobile coupons is not just a passing fad.
“In mobile vs. the Web, we see greater redemption rates in mobile,” says Fred Steube, Digital Innovation Director at Valpak. “We are seeing increased use of mobile coupons and increases in redemption.” For more information on just how popular these mobile coupons are becoming, there is a great article on the subject here.
Mobile coupons are easy to create, although there is a learning curve. They are a bit different to create than regular paper coupons, but not hard. The most basic mobile coupons are nothing more than text messages that contain a coupon code. You can find affordable SMS or email marketing providers for a minimal cost and they can help you to get started. If you have a little bit of knowledge of email marketing, you can even get started on your own! There are several very popular services that can help you get started creating your digital coupons. Some of the best places to start? Coupon Factory, Yowza, Placecast, and Cellit Spark are all good places to get your feet wet!
Mobile coupons are a great way to get your customers excited about your products, and to entice them to visit your store and try your products. You can have an email sign up form or even a simple form at your counter to have people sign up for email or text message alerts. Also make sure to advertise your coupons on your Facebook and Twitter pages to really get the most customers excited about them, and make sure to encourage your customers to share them with their friends as well! Mobile coupons are a win/win! Customers get great deals that they can carry with them everywhere they go, and business owners get super cheap marketing and advertising! What more could you ask for?
If all of this sounds good to you, it just might be time to get on the mobile coupon train. If you haven't started developing mobile coupons for your business yet, it is definitely not too late! Most all experts agree that the rise of mobile couponing is just getting started!
“Mobile couponing is definitely on the rise and moving fast,” says Alex Romanov, founder and CEO of iSign Media. “It may soon merit being rightfully called a true phenomenon, particularly as the slow economic recovery continues driving frugal consumer behavior.”
How's that for a promising forecast?
