I always thought that consumers would have a product or brand in mind when they started their search for coupons or special offers online, according to this study I was wrong.
Consumers searching online for coupons and savings are far more likely to be looking for store-centric deals than product-specific promotions,according to [pdf] a ShopAtHome.com analysis of more than a million coupon searches on its website from mid-May to mid-June 2012.
If this research is only partially true it helps make the case that brand managers should be co-branding promotions with their local retailers online. Much like it makes sense to co-op newspaper advertising it makes just as much if not more to do the same thing online.
In fact, online is better to co-brand with your retailers because often times there aren’t any publication costs. Help your dealers publish coupons to their sites and add dealer coupons to your dealer locator results page without spending any of your co-op money or theirs on paid media. Banner ads and Google search landing pages can follow, for a fraction of the cost of a newspaper ad.
Host and maintain these online coupons and you can track every step along the way.