Analysts say this is the year of the coupon, with most of our nation increasingly looking for ways to save money and stretch their dollar. And online coupons, with their convenience and targeted display to the user, continue to be a great driver to a brand experience and/or purchase.
Scientists say online coupons have higher impact than print coupons. They test our “Key Neurological Metrics” like attention, emotional engagement, and memory retention. Ok, so eye-tracking and galvanic skin response is exciting for the folks behind that study, but most of us are excited by extra savings in our shopping cart.
Most of us shoppers get coupons from:
• coupon subscriptions sites
• links direct to loyalty cards
• check the wildly popular “mommy blogs” for daily coupons
• and some like me send them directly to their phone. (I love mobile coupons. But I don’t want to have to print anything out or read cryptic numbers to a store check-out associate.)
Today I tested out two coupon provider companies. First was Coupon Sherpa’s free app for the iPhone. It was super easy to install and displayed coupons available at retailers in my area quickly. After scanning the list, I viewed the Smith & Hawken coupon on my browser. Sadly, the webpage wasn’t optimized for the iPhone (which you would think they could have managed the display size of the webpage knowing I was on an iPhone!?). CouponSherpa also provided the location of the nearest store and the ability to email the coupon. I tried the process again with an AMC Theatres coupon, but in this case the coupon had to be printed to be redeemed, which meant emailing it and then taking a physical print into the store. No thanks.
Coupon Sherpa
Second test was through the Samplesaintwebsite, which offers scannable mobile coupons. My zip code wasn’t supported, but I was able to go through a sample download. I liked the user experience up until I clicked through the offer text message (basically, up until I had to use my phone). They send the coupon via text message. Clicking through opened up a webpage that had THE SMALLEST size layout and text. (Again, funny, since this site was also supposed to be optimized for mobile viewing, and they could easily detect my iPhone). Samplesaint only gives you 20 minutes to use the coupon once you click “checkout”. This is a usage barrier for me, since I will probably complete this process BEFORE I enter the store, rather than while shopping. Still it’s worth checking out. I’m wondering if the service is available for any of you non-Atlantans?
The Samplesaint coupons on my iPhone
I’ll keep testing and providing feedback – and in the meantime let me know what has been your best online coupon experience. And while this entry focused on the front-end, stay tuned for follow-up from an esteemed colleague on the technical side of the scannable coupon technology evolution…
Back to work on a online display advertising campaign that is actually offering a $2 coupon (jackpot!) for an eye drop. Now that’s savings to tell yo momma about!
I know Delta has been testing mobile ticketing for awhile now, allowing gate agents to scan travelers' digital boarding passes directly from their phones. In fact, Jay blogged about this back in October [http://blog.engauge.com/2008/10/03/the-next-generation-boarding-pass/]... I wonder if there is any way for coupon companies to benefit/borrow from this technology to provide a better user experience than the ones you've described above? Maybe they already are?
This ain’t yo momma’s coupon clipping
Analysts say this is the year of the coupon, with most of our nation increasingly looking for ways to save money and stretch their dollar. And online coupons, with their convenience and targeted display to the user, continue to be a great driver to a brand experience and/or purchase.
Scientists say online coupons have higher impact than print coupons. They test our “Key Neurological Metrics” like attention, emotional engagement, and memory retention. Ok, so eye-tracking and galvanic skin response is exciting for the folks behind that study, but most of us are excited by extra savings in our shopping cart.
Most of us shoppers get coupons from:
• coupon subscriptions sites
• links direct to loyalty cards
• check the wildly popular “mommy blogs” for daily coupons
• and some like me send them directly to their phone. (I love mobile coupons. But I don’t want to have to print anything out or read cryptic numbers to a store check-out associate.)
Today I tested out two coupon provider companies. First was Coupon Sherpa’s free app for the iPhone. It was super easy to install and displayed coupons available at retailers in my area quickly. After scanning the list, I viewed the Smith & Hawken coupon on my browser. Sadly, the webpage wasn’t optimized for the iPhone (which you would think they could have managed the display size of the webpage knowing I was on an iPhone!?). CouponSherpa also provided the location of the nearest store and the ability to email the coupon. I tried the process again with an AMC Theatres coupon, but in this case the coupon had to be printed to be redeemed, which meant emailing it and then taking a physical print into the store. No thanks.
Coupon Sherpa
Second test was through the Samplesaint website, which offers scannable mobile coupons. My zip code wasn’t supported, but I was able to go through a sample download. I liked the user experience up until I clicked through the offer text message (basically, up until I had to use my phone). They send the coupon via text message. Clicking through opened up a webpage that had THE SMALLEST size layout and text. (Again, funny, since this site was also supposed to be optimized for mobile viewing, and they could easily detect my iPhone). Samplesaint only gives you 20 minutes to use the coupon once you click “checkout”. This is a usage barrier for me, since I will probably complete this process BEFORE I enter the store, rather than while shopping. Still it’s worth checking out. I’m wondering if the service is available for any of you non-Atlantans?
The Samplesaint coupons on my iPhone
I’ll keep testing and providing feedback – and in the meantime let me know what has been your best online coupon experience. And while this entry focused on the front-end, stay tuned for follow-up from an esteemed colleague on the technical side of the scannable coupon technology evolution…
Back to work on a online display advertising campaign that is actually offering a $2 coupon (jackpot!) for an eye drop. Now that’s savings to tell yo momma about!