If You Coupon It – They Will Buy

CoolSavings.com Survey Reveals Coupon Usage Across Generations

CHICAGO, IL — September 26, 2007 — Oh glorious September—the kids are back in school, the holidays are just around the corner and best of all, it’s National Coupon Month. In recognition of the month-long celebration, CoolSavings.com (www.coolsavings.com), the leading online coupon destination, conducted a survey of more than 2200 consumers and found coupons are as popular as ever among every age group.

According to the survey, older consumers use coupons most consistently, led by the 55+ age group, of whom 65% report using coupons on every shopping trip. Contrary to their spendthrift reputation, younger consumers are getting in on the act as well; 51% of 25-34 year olds report using coupons on every shopping trip.

The savings superstar award, however, goes to 35-44 year olds, who were not only the group using the most coupons but also the group saving the most money. According to the survey, 61% of 35-44 year olds use 5-20 coupons per shopping trip compared to the next two closest groups: 45-54 year olds (54%) and those age 55 and up (50%). When it comes to savings, 35% of 35-44 year olds report coupon savings of $10-$20 per shopping trip compared 32% of 25-34 year olds, 26% of 45-54 year olds and 29% of consumers age 55 and up.

In addition, the 35-44 year old group, more than any, relies on newspapers (47.8%) as their main source for coupons, while all other groups favor a combination of sources, including Internet sites such as CoolSavings.com, mail and newspapers.

"It's clear the power of coupons transcends generations," said Matt Wise, CEO of Q Interactive, the company that owns CoolSavings.com. "No matter your age, consumers recognize the value of coupons to stretch your dollar and save on both favorite and new products. That’s why CoolSavings.com is committed to always bringing our visitors the best and widest variety of coupons and savings from the nation’s top brands."

Additional Findings

In what may come as a surprise to some industry pundits who believe couponing only provides discounts to people who would buy your product anyway, the survey found couponing is an exceptionally effective way to encourage consumers to try new products. All five age groups surveyed, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54 and 55+, were extremely willing to try a new product or brand if they had a coupon for it—with the 35-44 group being the most likely (93.6%) to buy something new because of a coupon. Even the group least likely to buy something new with a coupon—the 55+ group—was 91.6% willing to try a new brand or product with a coupon.

Another interesting discovery was the day shoppers are savings bound. The primary shopping day for everyone 18-54 was Saturday, while the 55+ set favored Thursday.

The survey is part of an ongoing series that Q Interactive conducts through its Web site www.coolsavings.com on consumer attitudes toward spending and saving, and how costs affect purchase behavior. Consumers visit coolsavings.com to take advantage of valuable savings and information on brand-name stores, products and services.

Q Interactive conducted the online survey between September 5 and September 7, 2007. The survey sample comprises 2,268 unique responders. The margin of error is plus or minus 4%.

About Q Interactive

Q Interactive is an online marketing services provider for advertisers and publishers. Using a unique combination of demographic, behavioral and transactional data in a proprietary targeting engine, Q Interactive is fundamentally improving the relevancy of advertising on the Internet. Every year, more than 1,500 leading brands rely on Q Interactive to generate quality results, including nearly half of the nation’s top 100 advertisers as ranked by Advertising Age, such as Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo. Q Interactive operates an extensive advertising network with hundreds of high traffic partner sites, including Weather.com and About.com, as well as its own branded Web properties, including www.CoolSavings.com.

Q Interactive's services include Online Lead Generation and E-mail.

Formerly CoolSavings, Inc., Q Interactive was founded in 1995 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications, Inc.