Report: Mobile coupon redemption on the rise

Hampshire, United Kingdom -- The number of coupons redeemed through mobile and tablet devices is expected to reach 10 billion this year, up by more than 50% compared with last year, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The study, “Mobile Coupons-The Smart Way to Shop,” found that innovative retailers are increasingly seeking to offer mobile as a delivery channel, both as a means of driving retail traffic and to enhance consumer engagement and retention. It pointed out that while mobile still accounted for a comparatively low volume of coupons issued, retailers had been encouraged by the markedly higher average redemption rate of mobile coupons (10%) when compared to traditional print media and PC coupons (typically 1% or less).

Among the report’s key findings:

• Apple’s recent high-profile launch of Passbook is expected to act as a catalyst to both coupon deployments and adoption.

• Retailer reluctance to upgrade POS terminals for authentication and redemption is creating a bottleneck, effectively suppressing the deployment of mobile coupons.

The report noted that mobile couponing offered retailers the opportunity to marry their digital and physical assets.