A survey by Experian has found that 80% of online coupon email campaigns scored higher transaction-to-click rates and transaction rates than the non-coupon campaigns.

Key findings from Experian’s coupon survey include:

– 66% of US households use coupons, with 87% using them to save money and 30% in order to try a new product or service.

– Over the last three years, the number of households that sourcetheir coupons online has increased by 46%.

– The most common items purchased with coupons are food and groceries, followed by cleaning products and personal care products.

– Compared to 2006, there are now 9 percent more households using coupons at restaurants.

– Click rates were higher for coupon emails, with average increases of 17% for coupons redeemable online and 24% for coupons redeemable in-store.

– Open rates of around 24% to 25% for coupon focused email marketing dropped to just 16% to 18% for campaigns that didn’t include a coupon.

With the world still reeling from tough financial times and the gift-giving season almost upon us, consumers are certainly looking for bargains. As mentioned in my article on coupon marketing tips, there’s also something a little more special about a coupon vs. a run of the mill discount sale. I think it satisfies the bargain hunter in us all a little more :)

If your shopping cart software doesn’t yet support coupon features, it would be well worth looking into upgrading it so it does.

Another interesting snippet, also from Experian – In 2008, over 36 million people used online coupons.While the average redemption rate for newspaper coupons is 1.2 percent, recent studies indicate that online coupon redemption rates tend to fall anywhere between 5 and 20 percent.

You can download Experian’s coupon marketing report here (free registration)

Related:

Marketing with coupons – tips
Email marketing subject line tips
Email marketing software