Much like in years past, the number of printed coupons distributed in the first half of 2020 has fallen, dipping 14.7% year-over-year. New data from Kantar finds that more than 101 billion printed coupons were dropped in H1 2020, down from the more than 118.4 billion issued during the same period in 2019.
However, while the decline in the number of printed coupons distributed has been consistent with distribution in the first half of 2018 and 2019, the trend that has changed is in the number of digital coupons distributed. Despite the growth in digital coupon distribution over the past couple of years, the first half of this year saw digital coupon distribution decrease by 16.8% y-o-y to 3.6 billion.
Kantar notes that the decrease in both print and digital coupons is due to COVID-19 forcing brand manufacturers and retailers to adjust their promotional strategies. The report points out that the decline in digital offers came at the beginning of March, with the average days online for those coupons also falling by about 50% to an average of 9.5 days during Q2.
Per the report, the decline in digital promotions was driven by the Dry Grocery (-22%), Refrigerated Foods (-21%) and Personal Care (-17%) categories. That said, some areas within these categories experienced noteworthy gains. In the Dry Grocery category, for example, combination/cooking promotions grew by 70% y-o-y, while bath products in the Personal Care category saw an increase of 159% over the same period in 2019.
Separately, the weighted average face value of printed and digital coupons continues to increase. The weighted average face value of printed food promotions increased by $0.13, while digital food coupons increased, albeit slightly, by $0.04.
In the first half of the year, Kantar reports close to 1,100 new products in print and digital promotions. The largest share of these new products came in the Dry Grocery category, with 382, which is more than twice as many as the Shelf-Stable Beverage products (167) that accounted for the second-largest number.
Further data can be viewed online here.
