Report Reveals Consumers Are Ready To Spend More In 2024, With The Right Incentives

ActiveCampaign, the must-have platform for intelligent marketing automation, released its latest consumer research report, ‘Coupons, Discounts & BOGOs (Oh My): How incentives drive ecommerce consumers to purchase, return, and recommend,’ which revealed consumers are eager to match or increase their spending from 2023 well into this year…but only if personalized incentives are offered.

For four out of five consumers surveyed, price drives purchase considerations, and nearly half report caring most about discounts when shopping online. Therefore, brand loyalty is up for grabs:

• All but 2% of consumers surveyed are willing to go to a competitor for a lower price.
• A coupon for 20% off an entire purchase is enough to draw 70% of consumers away from their favorite store to purchase elsewhere.
• Another 63% would purchase from a competitor for free shipping.

Most consumers aren’t loyal to one or two stores, unless a strong incentive strategy is in place. In fact, 97% of all consumers would like to see more coupons from their favorite online stores, and 95% of consumers say they would likely make an additional purchase if they received a coupon.

“We know that consumers want coupons and discounts and that value is extremely important to them. But, what we found most interesting from this research is that there are so many nuances when it comes to when, where, and how consumers want to receive them,” said Damian Amaya, Senior Director of the Ecommerce Product Line at ActiveCampaign. “Because consumers have communicated they are ready to spend, ecommerce brands need to meet them halfway and ensure they are adhering to their preferences. This may seem hard to do, but with the right tools in place, you can save time and boost profitable sales.”

Other key findings from ActiveCampaign’s Coupons, Discounts & BOGOs Report:

• A cross-channel approach to engaging consumers with coupons and discounts is ideal: 77% of consumers prefer to receive coupons via email, but there is growing interest in SMS (31%) and social media (17%) for delivery channels.
• Don't ask for too much: Only 17% of those surveyed say they would post about and tag an online store on social media in exchange for a coupon. However, that number bumps up to 24% for Millennials and drops to 7% for Boomers+ (born before 1965).
• Loyalty must be earned: 43% of consumers report visiting more than five different online stores to make purchases for themselves or others in the last 12 months, meaning consumers really have to be incentivized to stick with one or two brands.
• Millennials have less interest in dollar-off offers: Rather, they are significantly more interested in percentage-based discounts, and they are 3x more likely than Boomers+ to prefer a “buy more to save more coupon” (23% vs 7%).

For more consumer incentive insights and how to use them, download the full Coupons, Discounts & BOGOs Report.