The total redemption value of mobile coupons will exceed $43b globally by 2016 as coupons are increasingly delivered by mobile apps, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
The report found that, mobile coupons, sitting at the intersection of advertisements, payments and loyalty schemes, are a key catalyst for the mobile commerce market.
Redemption rates are set to rise in North America and Western Europe after a few years of experimentation and growing user acceptance.
However, the report stressed the importance of users freely ‘opting-in’ to mobile coupon schemes and not being subjected to indiscriminate and unwanted promotions.
Handled properly, the mobile coupon builds customer loyalty as the user enters into a permission-based exchange of information with the brand, merchant or retailer, so that only relevant coupons are received.
Report author David Snow said cost effective mobile coupon campaigns are now within the reach of smaller retailers providing them with an easy way to drive profitable footfall and build customer loyalty.
"To ignore the potential of mobile coupons would be to ignore the future of mobile commerce," Snow said.
