The staggering success of Amazon in recent years shows how competitive today’s global internet marketplace has become. Many retail businesses that have been around for generations are struggling, thanks to e-commerce and the internet, with people going online and searching for and buying products. Today, businesses can use promotions and deals to attract new customers and secure their loyalty to a particular online retailer or store.
Deals have a great influence on acquiring customers and achieving brand loyalty among consumers, especially millennials. The concept of coupons driving sales shouldn’t be a surprise, but it’s possible to underestimate the potential of improving a business with promotions.
A 2018 survey from RetailMeNot revealed that two out of three consumers have made a purchase they didn’t originally intend to make, based solely on them finding a discount or coupon. Similarly, four out of five said they felt encouraged to buy from a brand for the first time if they found a discount or offer. That’s why using special offers to attract new customers via online ads is a smart move. Seeing a generous special offer can encourage people to make a purchase when they otherwise wouldn’t. It’s made even easier, with numerous deal sites online, such as dontpayfull.com.
Grabbing Attention
Besides being an effective way of grabbing the attention of a consumer, coupons and deals have a large role to play in what consumers choose to buy. The survey revealed that close to three in four of Americans named offers as a top factor when choosing what and where to buy online. And four out of five Americans said finding a good discount or offer is on their mind throughout the entire buying journey
One argument said that only retailers should list their specials in a way that’s easy to find in Google. A staggering 94 per cent of consumers said they search for an offer or deal when doing their shopping online. And three in five consumers felt they had to search for an offer before completing a purchase. And even when someone follows the sales funnel all the way to the checkout screen, coupons could assist the 75 percent of Americans who had left a shopping cart online due to cost issues.
Effective Targets
The survey also suggested that young adults and millennials were the most effective targets of promotions-based marketing. Slightly more than half of millennials from 18 to 34 said they always looked for a deal before buying anything online, compared to four in 10 of baby boomers 55+.
A 2017 survey from Hawk Incentives revealed that 97 per cent of respondents said they were looking for deals when shopping online, and 92 per cent said they’re “always” looking. Over half (56 per cent) said they were more likely to search for deals than in the previous year, with 35 per cent saying they were “much more likely” to.
Instant Access
Hawk Incentives Vice President of Marketing Theresa McEndree said that instant access to deals and the use of smartphones have perpetuated a deal-seeking culture, and that shoppers now have an habitual and emotional propensity to make the most out of their dollars and purchase value.
It’s important to remember that an attractive price, accompanied by a feeling of securing a good deal can be a more important factor than others, such as brand recognition. Close to nine in 10 of respondents to the Hawk survey said that price was the top factor, with 82 per cent going for quality as the top factor that affected their buying decisions. That’s almost twice the amount of people who said that brand name was their main buying factor (45 per cent).
A Cautionary Tale
The principle that sales make customers feel smart is illustrated through the story of J.C. Penney’s plan to get rid of all sales. The company announced in 2012 that there would be no more sales and that it’s pricing would be more straightforward. They thought customers would appreciate no more prices marked up just for the purpose of then reducing them just for a “sale” price. The plan failed dramatically and they returned to their old pricing and sales model.
Wrap Up
As the online marketplace grows in terms of competition, marketers and business owners are required to be aggressive in pushing their promotions to target demographics. This will grab the eyeball of prospects, encouraging them to buy certain products or from specific retailers, and keep checkout costs low to avoid abandoned carts.
