Email Coupons to Convert Shoppers into Customers

There are two major truths in retail. The first is that a lot of effort and marketing dollars go into driving foot traffic to a store. The second is that real estate is expensive, and retailers can’t afford for people to leave without buying something. Especially in our digital, short-attention-span age, in-store engagement is critical to closing the sale. A great tool for converting shoppers into buyers is delivering email coupons while they shop. A well-timed email coupon can appeal to customers’ emotions and make them feel like they got a good deal, thus encouraging them to buy.

With e-commerce sales recently surpassing in-store sales, it has become even more important for retailers to incorporate incentives while customers are at the height of their interest in the store. This will increase the likelihood of conversion. Furthermore, you can add contact information from these customers to your marketing list. This could result in repeat purchases in the future. Here’s an overview of how to use email coupons to drive business sales and how OnSpot Social can help.

How to Increase Sales with Coupons

When you first think of coupons, you might think of the old pennysavers from which your parents or grandparents would clip coupons to use at the local supermarket. But that image of couponing is long gone. Like everything else, coupons have evolved with technology. Now smartphones are an increasingly common way to receive and redeem offers. And contrary to that image of the pennysaver, it’s not just one age group or income level that uses coupons. Coupons are popular across ages and demographics, and can be the deciding factor in whether or not a customer chooses to buy.

It’s not surprising that consumers are price-conscious and want to use discounts when they shop. For the average smartphone user, email coupons are a strong incentive for signing up for a contact list and for making a purchase. Consider some of these statistics on how you can increase sales with coupons that are sent digitally:

• 48% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase sooner than intended in order to use an offer (Kelton)
• Emails with a coupon have a 14% higher open rate, a 34% higher unique click rate, and a 27% higher transaction completion rate compared to emails without coupons (ReadyCloud)
• Shoppers who use coupons are spending 37% more than shoppers who don’t use them. (Deal Nerd)
• 47% of consumers say feel excited when they receive an exclusive offer (Kelton)
• 55% of consumers use a smartphone to search for digital coupons while shopping in-store (Invesp)

So how do you capitalize on customers’ love of digital coupons when they are already in your store? Exclusive, limited-time offers are an especially effective way to increase sales with coupons. These generate a sense of urgency and expedite the customer’s decision to purchase. Delivering email coupons that must be used in a certain time frame is an excellent option to convert shoppers into customers.

Collect Emails in Store

In order to send digital coupons, first you will need your customers’ email addresses. If you run an ecommerce store, some customers have likely signed up for your email newsletter online. You can send a digital coupon to this mailing list. However, if you also have a brick-and-mortar location, you should collect emails in store, too. Encourage customers to sign up for your email list while they are browsing in your shop, and make set up a seamless process.  When you collect emails in store, provide an incentive for customers. For example, OnSpot Social offers features likes digital games, raffles, and Scratch and Wins for different prizes, which customers can redeem in store after providing their email address. The gamification of email collection adds an entertainment factor, further encouraging customers to patronize your store.

Digital Coupons Increase Marketing Engagement

One of the biggest benefits of digital coupons is that you can use them to track engagement and campaign effectiveness. How many coupons did you send out to customers in your store? How many coupons were opened and redeemed? What was that purchase amount for customers who used that coupon? Digital coupons can include a barcode so they can be scanned at checkout, which will allow retailers to track return on investment. Your store can also offer a few different digital coupons as an A/B test to see which is most effective for driving sales. As with all marketing strategies, measure effectiveness and refining your strategy is crucial.

Collecting emails is great for future marketing use, too. When you use OnSpot Social to collect emails in store, you can export these customers to your CRM and general contact list in platforms like Mailchimp. From there, you can send promotional emails, event announcements, and more. You can also send “anniversary” digital coupons, or coupons based on the customer’s purchase history. Creating a loyalty program that offers discounts or a points-based rewards system is another method of generating repeat purchases from customers who were motivated by the first coupon you sent.

Send Coupons with OnSpot Social

In order to make the most of your coupon and discounting marketing strategy, you will need the right technology platform on your side. OnSpot Social is an all-in-one retail app you can use to send coupons to customers in your store. Sales reps can carry iPads with the OnSpot Social app preloaded. As an alternative, the iPad can be set up at a station near checkout for customers to enter their contact information and receive email coupons. The best part about OnSpot Social is that the email coupon feature is automatic. As soon as a customer enters their email address, OnSpot Social sends a pre-selected coupon that can be used while the customer is in the store. You can set it and forget it, creating a frictionless experience for the customer as well as the sales rep.

Email coupons are ideal for converting shoppers into first-time buyers and encouraging future engagement. How is your store using email coupons to drive sales? Let us know in the comments.

If you want to email coupons to customers, please start a free trial of OnSpot Social.