Hive to Honey

three in four people think the economy has prompted the average consumer to eat out less often. Yet despite declining visits to restaurants, consumers indicate they are just as loyal (68%), or even more loyal (15%) to the restaurants they frequent.
“In hard times, many consumers crave familiarity and reliability. When choosing to dine out, it’s [...]

ccording to a recent Adweek Media/ Harris Poll, 23% of adult Americans believe that newspaper and magazine advertisements are where they can find the best bargains. 18% believe online advertisements are most likely to help them find the best bargains. 10% say direct mail and 12% catalogs, 11% television commercials, and just 2% say radio. [...]

free standing insert (FSI) coupon activity increased 8.0% during 2009 versus the previous year to more than 272 billion coupons dropped. This activity level is the highest yearly coupons dropped observed during the past decade, surpassing the second highest annual coupons dropped of 257 billion realized in 2007. In addition, retailer promotion pages also [...]

As the economic downturn drags on, more consumers are using coupons to purchase consumer packaged goods. That covers everything from their favorite cereals, canned goods, jarred sauces, frozen dinners and snacks to paper products, household cleaners, laundry soap, shampoo and other personal care items.
Adweek

Antiquated point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software, integration issues into backend IT infrastructures, and lack of buy-in from CIOs who approve budgets continue to keep some brands from offering mobile coupons, agreed a expert panelist this week at OMMA Global New York.
It’s not difficult getting buy-in from the marketing group. They typically like the one-on-one marketing [...]

It just doesn’t get much hotter than coupons.
“It is a sign of the times,” said Kelly McFalls, a spokeswoman for BJ’s Wholesale Club, which accepts manufacturers’ coupons. Underscoring the nationwide trend, more BJ’s shoppers are using such coupons, as well as the BJ’s store coupons.
Digital coupon use, on the Web and on cellphones, is also [...]

Text messaging and email are quickly emerging as ways to obtain coupons in the US, with 8.6 million (8%) of the country’s households currently using one or both of these methods to receive money-saving offers, according to (pdf) an analysis from Scarborough Research that explores and ranks the ways households obtain coupons.
link

“Coupons are even more influential in consumer purchasing decisions today due to the economic downturn as shoppers realize it’s the smart thing to do,” says Charles Brown, Co-Chair of the PMA Coupon Council. “Both manufacturers and retailers are promoting at a greater pace to appeal to consumers who are seeking deals to stretch their budget [...]

Add Unilever and Kroger to the growing ranks of digital coupon partnerships, as consumers become more and more willing to seek out high-tech sources for old-fashioned deals.
“We are working with a number of our customer partners to deliver digital coupons, to ensure that Unilever delivers coupons where consumers are looking for them — via print [...]

A number of factors have contributed to the increasing use of text or e-mail coupons, such as the increase usage of cell phones and other personal communications devices, which allow consumers to access offers at the point of purchase. And because consumers must opt in to receive the coupons, they tend to be more targeted. [...]