Mobile Coupons High Priority For Brands/Consumers But Not Small Businesses

Mobile coupon usage by consumers is on the rise and is proving to drive consumers to buy more and try new technologies, according to eMarketer.  eMarketer reports that by the end of 2016 104 million adults in the U.S. will be mobile coupon users.  According to a recent survey from Koupon Media, marketers are making mobile coupons a priority. Koupon Media gives some cases on the benefit to big brands and stores in mobile coupons. Big brands and businesses are seeing good returns in redemption and revenue, but for small businesses the use of mobile coupons is still small. In our Local Commerce Monitor™ (LCM) survey of small businesses, less than 10% of small business reported using mobile coupons. Additionally, of those small businesses that use mobile coupons, their perceived return on investment was not high when compared to the other channels they use. Although it is fairly easy to create a mobile offer, the lack of use by small businesses is because the campaign is challenging to execute and see the benefits. The easiest incentive for a mobile coupon is mobile check-ins, but getting consumers to actually check in to get the reward can be a challenge.  Thanks to the increase in consumer usage of mobile coupons, companies selling mobile coupons to small businesses don’t have to prove why a small business needs mobile coupons in their marketing mix. The challenge lies in offering managed or self serve tools that can help these small businesses implement successful mobile coupon campaigns and measure the benefits whether they are calls, in person visits, shares or revenue.