Coupons Make a Comeback as Nearly Half of Consumers Plan to Spend Less This Holiday Season

Business Wire, Oct 6, 2008

A New RetailMeNot.com Survey Found That a Third of Consumers Will Use Coupons to Save Money on Holiday Gifts

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The results of a newly released consumer survey conducted by Harris Interactive([R])and commissioned by RetailMeNot.com, the web's leading consumer destination for online coupons, discounts and promotional codes for merchandise, travel and services, found that nearly half of online adults (45%) plan to spend less money on gifts this holiday season compared to last year given the current state of the economy and one in five plan to spend significantly less. The survey, which polled 2,022 online adults 18 within the United States, measured the economy's impact on holiday shopping. The survey found that 89% of online adults think coupons are a great way to save money and about a third (35%) of those who will be spending less money on gifts this holiday season will use coupons.

Consumers are bracing themselves for a tight budget this holiday season and will use a variety of shopping strategies to spend less money on holiday gifts. In addition to coupon use, online adults who will be spending less money on gifts this holiday season than last year report that they will use the following shopping strategies this season:

* 80% will purchase fewer gifts this year, either by buying gifts for fewer people (46%), buying a smaller amount of gifts for the same number of people (43%) and/or making some gifts instead of purchasing them (22%)

* 63% will buy less expensive gifts

* 44% will shop at discount stores

* 37% will shop online, either to find better deals (32%) and/or to save money on gas (24%)

* 29% will shop early to avoid impulse buys

* 19% will shop during Black Friday sales

* 12% will wait until the last minute to get more discounts

Consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet to do their shopping. The majority of online adults (83%) are willing to make online purchases. Of those who make purchases online, the most popular items included:

* Books, 71%

* Music, 62%

* Electronics, 55%

* Gift certificates, 53%

* Clothing, 51%

* Travel, 50%

* Office supplies, 39%

* Health and beauty products, 34%

When heading online to shop, consumers are increasingly web-savvy in the way they look for bargains. Eighty-five percent of online shoppers use tools or websites to find good deals online. Predictably, 56% of online shoppers are using search engines to find bargains; however, online shoppers have found many other ways to save, including:

* 32% use price comparison websites

* 25% use online coupon websites

* 23% use online advertisements

* 12% use bargain tracking websites

* 5% use shopping-themed social networks

"As economic pressures mount, consumers are becoming more strategic in the way they look for deals and they are using online tools more than ever. Coupon use, in particular, is on the rise and more consumers are realizing tremendous savings with online coupon websites like RetailMeNot.com," said Guy King, co-founder of RetailMeNot.com, a popular online coupon website that offers more than 100,000 coupons for more than 20,000 stores. "In addition to empowering consumers with the information they need to save money, online tools are creating new channels for retailers to reach budget conscience shoppers and drive sales despite the decrease in spending this holiday season."

For complete survey results and methodology, including weighting variables, please visit http://www.retailmenot.com/harrispoll/fall2008.> About the survey

This Online Shopping survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of RetailMeNot.com between September 10 and September 12, 2008 among 2,022 U.S. adults ages 18 , of whom 1,783 shop online. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the online U.S. adult population on the basis of Internet usage (hours per week) and connection type. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive is a global leader in custom market research. With a long and rich history in multimodal research that is powered by our science and technology, we assist clients in achieving business results. Harris Interactive serves clients globally through our North American, European and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.

About RetailMeNot.com

RetailMeNot.com is the web's leading consumer destination for online coupons, discounts and promotional codes for merchandise, travel and services. RetailMeNot.com is an online community that posts, uses, recommends and ranks over 100,000 online discounts and promotions at more than 20,000 retailers, including Amazon, GameStop, Banana Republic, Macy's, Best Buy, Home Depot and Victoria's Secret. RetailMeNot.com's mission is to help consumers save money and enjoy a hassle-free discount shopping experience online. RetailMeNot.com, a division of Stateless Systems, is located in Melbourne, Australia.