Coupons?

Did you check the Sunday Newspaper for Coupons today? Depends on your age...

Young Coupon Clippers Looking Online

The results of a new study by Platform-A and IRI (Information Resources Inc.) from 36,000 panelists on trends in consumer couponing, shows that more than 90 million consumers (78% of retail shoppers) currently use newspaper coupons, with nearly one out of every four of the newspaper coupon clippers likely to be at least 65 years old. It also revealed that nearly four out of every 10 shoppers, a total of 40 million consumers, would be very likely to use coupons accessed online.

Considering the findings of consumer usage of traditional newspaper coupons and interest in digitally distributed online coupons, Mark Ellis, Senior Vice-President, AOL / Platform-A, says "... we have an economy that makes coupons much more relevant to the average consumer... a rising generation of families totally at home with the Internet, and an overall decline of the newspaper and its Sunday circular distribution... trends that are converging to make online couponing an appealing option... "

The research comes at a critical juncture, when American families are extremely value-focused and eager to stretch their buying power, yet newspaper circulation (the traditional vehicle for coupons) is in steep decline.

Sunday Newspaper Readership Trends (% of Population)
Age Group	2003	2008	% Change
18-34	26%	24%	-12%
35-44	22	19	-18
45-64	20	21	4
55-65	13	16	20
65+	19	21	10
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) March 2009

Not surprisingly says the report, the younger the consumer, the more comfortable they were with the idea of accessing coupons online:

• 51% of 18-24 year-old shoppers indicate that they would be very likely to use coupons presented to them online
• While historically ambivalent to traditional coupons, younger couples are the most likely life-stage group to use online coupons, indicating an opportunity to influence product choices within this segment
• Young couples without children are among the respondents most likely to use a coupon they found online, followed by shoppers with younger children

The Coupon User Universe (% of Age Group)
Age Group	Digital Coupon Intenders	Newspaper Clippers
18-24	51%	68%
25-34	40	71
35-44	41	78
45-54	41	79
55-64	37	80
65+	30	83
Source: Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) March 2009

J. P. Beauchamp, senior vice president, IRI Consumer & Shopper Insights, concludes that "... remarkable about the study results is how open young people are to the idea of using coupons online... even though clipping coupons... hasn't been their thing... "

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