Did you know that almost 500 BILLION dollars worth of coupons are distributed every year!? How much do you think actually gets cashed in/redeemed? 20%!? 10%!? It's actually less than 1% ??
In talking with CPG brands who are considering using Sampoll to immediately boost sales velocity at key retailers I sometimes hear that they're considering using coupons instead of a digital rebate to incentivize their audience and win over new shoppers. When I ask why the answer is usually something like "well bc coupons are more convenient for the customer!", which in fairness is sometimes true (assuming they're not printed coupons that take 3 weeks to show up after you sign up). That said - there are significant differences between the two that are critical to consider. So let's break it down:
1?? Setup & Distribution
Coupons (either digital or physical) typically require sign-off and coordination from individual retailers. Digital Rebates in contrast do not require approval or participation from retailers and can be deployed anywhere, anytime.
2?? Retailer Buy-In (Part II)
Because rebates are provided to the customer directly by the manufacturer, the retailer's pricing and margins are unaffected and the promotion does not directly reduce sales revenue (from the retailers perspective). Coupon scans, in contrast, are directly visible to the retailer and typically reduce sales revenue.
3?? Redemption
Two points here. First - I'll admit that redeeming a traditional rebate can be a relatively tedious activity, esp if it's a mail-in rebate. But it's 2024 people! We can provide "rapid rebates" now that get immediately paid out directly to Venmo/Paypal/Zelle etc and all that's required is snapping a quick pic of your receipt. It takes less than 20 seconds. So I'd argue it's almost a wash as far as convenience is concerned.
Second point here is YUUGE. The coupon, specifically a 100% OFF coupon, means that the customer effectively has NO skin in the game. They never need to open their wallet and pay for the product up front, and because of this you might end up attracting a relatively large number of low quality shoppers vs folks that are genuinely interested in your product.
4?? Real Customer Data
A (Sampoll powered) rebate program captures tens of thousands of real first-party data points including contact info and all sorts of demographic/psychographic insight. Beyond this, because we're capturing proof of purchase (a physical or digital receipt), we can uncover god-tier insights including shopper basket data, what else was purchased, etc, so you can identify purchasing patterns and understand your customer like never before. Why let the retailer have all the fun?
There are obv layers to this! As a founder/brand manager/etc why else would you choose one or the other?
#rebates #coupons #shoppermarketing #consumerpackagedgoods #loyaltyprograms
