New Study by Quotient Sheds Light on How Digital Coupons Help Product Launches

According to a new study, “Digital Coupon Redeemer: New Product Adoption,” shoppers who use digital coupons try out new products twice as often as typical shoppers and are more likely to repurchase them. The study was conducted by online promotions giant Quotient Technology Inc. (NYSE: QUOT) in partnership with market research firm GfK

The study analyzed the purchasing behavior of more than 43,000 digital coupon shoppers from GfK’s National Shopper Lab database, which tracks more than 1.6 million households in the U.S. The shopping data was then matched against 24 individual case studies on new product launches from 2013 to 2015 by leading Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands. The case studies span 24 different CPG categories, ten of which are food products such as cereals, yogurt, and frozen meals. The other four are non-food products that include personal care and household cleaning items.

Digital coupon shoppers are not only more willing to buy new products, they also tend to be repeat buyers both in terms of total purchases and purchases per trip. According to the study, shoppers who use digital coupons purchased 1.5 times more units than the average shopper. “The digital coupon consumer segment shops and spends 30% more annually than the national average,” said Neal Heffernan, Senior Vice President of Shopper and Retail Strategy at GfK, in a press release about the study.

Given the massive marketing spend of CPG brands on new product launches each year, digital coupon promotions represent a cost-effective way for advertisers to increase awareness and drive sales. This may be why nearly 80 percent of all new product launches in 2015 included digital coupon promotions, according to an earlier Kantar Media study, which also found that digital programs almost doubled last year to support CPGs’ new product promotions.

“Consumer packaged-goods companies are always looking to increase the odds of success for new brand launches,” said Mir Aamir, President and COO at Quotient. “Digital coupons continue to be an effective strategy to drive trial and repeat buying, ultimately leading to increased sales.”