Inmar Intelligence, a data and tech-enabled services company, today released data from its 2021 Promotion Industry Trends Analysis and July Shopper Insights Study, which found that 54 percent of all shoppers recently purchased a new brand because it was less expensive, and nearly a third of these shoppers were influenced by a digital coupon. These findings come at a time when the grocery industry is experiencing price increases causing shoppers to look for ways to offset the impact to their wallet.
Consumer adoption of load-to-card (digital coupons) has been on an upward trajectory since 2018, and surpassed free standing inserts (FSIs), or paper coupons, in 2020. Through August 2021, digital coupons continue to lead in share of redemption volume despite FSIs having nearly 20x the distribution volume. Specifically, according to Inmar Intelligence’s analysis, digital coupon redemptions accounted for 33 percent of all coupon redemptions in the first half of 2021 compared to FSIs, which accounted for 24 percent. Overall digital coupon redemption volume for 2021 YTD saw a 13 percent YoY increase from 2020, indicating a continued and increasing strong demand for both savings and the convenience of digital coupons.
While shopper usage of digital incentives is increasing, newly released data from Inmar Intelligence shows that these digital incentives are greatly influencing purchase decisions. The new data suggests that today’s shoppers are willing to try new brands – and these digital promotions are greatly influencing this decision. July 2021 recorded the highest rate of brand trial YTD with 72 percent of all shoppers reporting that they made a new brand purchase. 84 percent of shoppers using a coupon for a recent in-store purchase and 92 percent of shoppers using a coupon for an online purchase reported that the coupon changed their purchase decision, leading them to either purchase more, purchase sooner or purchase a product for the first time.
“Shoppers are continually looking for value and savings, now more than ever and as their lives become increasingly digital, they are looking to digital methods to deliver savings,” said Spencer Baird, EVP & President, MarTech at Inmar Intelligence. “As we’ve seen in our research, digital incentives are driving shopper purchase decisions. Brands and retailers are now executing plans for Q4, and they need to ensure that they’ve integrated digital incentives into their plans in order to meet the sales and market share objectives they have in front of them. The flexibility, targeting, attribution and speed to market of digital incentives enable brands and retailers to meet both the needs of shoppers as well as their own objectives.”
For more information about how Inmar Intelligence can help brands and retailers optimize their digital incentive strategies and deliver value to shoppers, please visit our Digital Incentives section.