The Added Benefits of Advertising Discount Vouchers

As recent research has highlighted, there are increasing benefits from advertising discount vouchers and deals that you might offer. With 58% of consumers stating they are more likely to visit a retail site where discount vouchers or coupons are available[1], you can take advantage of this additional traffic and ensure your ads contain the most attractive offers to users in the run up to Christmas. According to Hitwise in the last year alone searches for discount vouchers have grown by 47.5%[2]. But what other benefits are there?

1) The potential to attract new customers: 31% of internet coupon users state that they have started only using them in the last 12 months, while 50% of the same respondents say coupons influence them to try new products[1]. 39% of the same respondents said they are more likely to click on an online ad where coupons are available[1].

2) Increased brand loyalty and repeat purchases: 57% of respondents say companies offering vouchers and coupons care about keeping them as a customer[3].

3) Increased customer acquisition: 70% of users say they are more likely to provide information such as names and email addresses for a discount coupon[3].

4) Increased sales at Christmas: According to a Deloitte 2008 survey, 62% of respondents planned to buy gift vouchers, making it the 6th most popular gift idea[4]. As highlighted in data for 2008 from Google Insights, searches on voucher related terms begin a steady rise in the lead up to Christmas from early November.



With user behaviour changing during the economic downturn, consumers are increasingly moving online to find the best deals. Providing any unique selling points in your ad texts is a key method for making your ads stand out from your competitors and attracting increased sales and traffic during the Christmas period. In the last year alone there has been significant growth in voucher searches for ever more specific deals and discounts. Last year UK internet users searched for 8,300 variations of search terms containing the words 'voucher' or 'vouchers', but in the first 6 months of this year the figure has risen to 34,200[2].

If you are offering any discount vouchers this year, then be sure to add in branded search terms such as ‘brand voucher’ into your account before the late November/early December peak. Such terms will typically have higher CTRs and conversion rates. Use your Analytics Ecommerce data to identify potential keywords that triggered your ads last year. By running a Non Paid Keywords report you can see which keywords converted for you previously that you don’t currently have in your account.

[1]"Internet-printable coupons significantly increase customer engagement" Internet Retailing, October 2, 2009
[2]"Voucher searches up 47.5% in a year" Robin Goad, Hitwise Intelligence, August, 2009
[3]"Online 'Coupon Clickers' Number 36 Million" Retailer Daily, July, 2008
[4]Top 15 Holiday Gift Items that UK Consumers Plan to Purchase eMarketer, November, 2008

Posted by Ewan Aparicio, Dublin Retail Team