Marketers Continue Steady Use of Print Coupons

Inserts/Coupons

• In 2012, consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers distributed 305 billion coupons to consumers, the same quantity as the year prior.

• CPG marketers continued to use free standing inserts (FSIs) to distribute the largest volume of all their coupons, increasing the media's share to 90.1% of the 305 billion coupons issued. According to the report, the 0.7% FSI share increase came from In-Store, Direct Mail and Magazine as CPG marketers reduced their use of those higher-redeeming media while also continuing to experiment with the audience reach and scale potential of various digital media.

Source: NCH Marketing Services, Coupon Facts Report, 2013

• In total, digital remains less than 1% of all coupons distributed, including those printed at home and paperless offers downloaded to loyalty cards or mobile devices.

• Despite steady distribution, U.S. consumers redeemed 17.1% less coupons in 2012. Total consumer savings on CPG coupons declined by $800 million in 2012, to $3.7 billion, representing a 17.8% decrease. With this said, savings in 2012 remained above 2008′s total of $2.9 billion. Reasons given for redeeming less coupons: reduced face value offered, multiple purchases required and shorter expiration dates.

• According to consumers using fewer coupons than the year before, 46% of them cited the number one reason was: "I can't find coupons for the products I want to buy." Other reasons noted were coupons expiring too quickly (39.1%), and no time to clip coupons (30.7%).

• More than half (53.1%) of consumers surveyed said they used coupons about the same amount in 2012 as in the prior year, while almost twice as many said they used more compared to those who used less (26.4% vs. 14.5%).

• The largest redemption volume is generated by coupons distributed via print formats, lead by FSIs (51.4%), coupons found on product packaging (18.2%) and in-store coupons (14.2%).

Source: NCH Marketing Services, Coupon Facts Report, 2013

• Coupon redemption volume dropped across the board for all retailers. Drug stores redemption saw the largest drop (-26.5%), followed by grocery stores (-18.0%) and mass merchandisers, including supercenters (-16.2%).

• Despite a reduction in redemption volumes, consumers use of coupons remains strong: NCH finds 79.8% of consumers regularly shop using coupons while shopping for groceries and personal good, well above the 63.6% who reported regularly using coupons in the pre-recession 2007 study.

• Of the 305 billion coupons issued in 2012, non-food categories (medications, personal care, household products) comprised 4.4% more of the available coupons than the prior year. NCH notes CPG marketers increased the coupons available in non-food categories where consumers tend to delay purchases or have many brand choices. Conversely, there were 6.5% fewer food coupons, including products that are purchased frequently.

About: Coupons distributed and redeemed in the U.S. CPG marketplace are studied utilizing NCH's manufacturer client databases, data cleared via their retailer processing operation and other independent sources. NCH's proprietary methodology utilizes rigorous controls and statistical standards to maintain the integrity of the information. Data points from client and market sources are dynamic. Projections are based on the most current information available at the time of publication and may be revised in the future. Also, due to rounding, the sum of certain percentages may not equal 100 percent. The scope of this report includes Manufacturer Coupons of all paper and paperless media formats that are most typically funded by CPG marketing budget allocations for consumer promotion. Retailer In-Ad coupons are not included in this report, as they are most often funded by trade dollars. Consequently, In-Ad distribution and redemption are less precisely tracked by manufacturers. C2C is an abbreviation for coupons download to retailer loyalty cards or unique identification numbers. The scale of C2C and mobile coupons is limited by enablement of retailer point of sale systems, currently deployed primarily in the grocery retail channel. This report also contains various references to NCH's most recent Consumer Survey. The data was obtained in August of 2012 using a market research firm with proficiency in Internet surveys. The sample was derived from an online consumer opinion panel, and all participants were at least 18 years of age and living in the contiguous U.S. The survey was closed once 1,000 completed responses had been reached. The responses were weighted by factors obtained from national census data to provide appropriate representations of demographic groups at summary levels.

Sources:  NCH, Coupon Facts Report 2013, accessed Jan. 30, 2013 (registration required) and Marketing Charts, CPG Marketers Distributed 305 Billion Coupons in ’12, Flat From ’11, Jan. 28, and Consumers’ Savings From CPG Coupons Dropped 18% in 2012, Jan. 29, 2013.