Thrifty millenials love coupons

Razor's Kalay Maistry and NTT Data's Marian Scala named in Provoke Media’s Innovator 25 EMEA

Danette Breitenbach

Valassis, one of the largest coupon distributors/processors in the world, has conducted a 2014 shopper marketing study that found that 96% of millennials (born between 1986 and 2000) use coupons. The fact that they were born into uncertain economic times has perhaps made them a bit thriftier than other generations.

"Today's retailers are coming up with creative ways to reach millennials and give them the coupons they crave," says Liz Crawford, VP of Strategy & Insights at Match ShopLab in Norwalk, CT. "A business that wants to connect with millennials should make it fun and make it mobile.

"It can be done in many ways: from money saving apps to social media sites that reward followers with special deals to coupons which can be pulled up on a mobile phone, or printed out in store. Millennials look for coupons and good deals - they have in mind what product or brand they'd like to buy ahead of time and then they hunt for that coupon across a variety of different vehicles, platforms, retailers and websites. In addition, they are drawn to deals that involve some kind of gamification.

"The best way to make it fun is to make a promotion similar to a game that they like to play - such as a Candy Crush or an Angry Birds. They do not just want bargain hunting for bargain hunting's sake; they also want to have a little bit of fun with it.

"Another shopping trick millennials are using is combining offers from a variety of different source- like manufacturer coupons along with in-store deals. One survey found they're doing this more than baby boomers or gen-Xers," she concludes.