Growth of Digital Coupons Outpaces That of Printed Newspaper Coupons by 10 to 1

Savings Printed in Last 12 Months Exceeds $1 Billion; June Sets     Monthly Printed Savings Record

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—In the wake of recent research indicating coupons distributed via FSI     (free standing inserts) in newspapers rose 8.4 percent for the 12-month     period ending June 30, 2010 compared to the year before,¹ Coupons.com today issued new data that shows digital coupons grew 100     percent during the same period. The data shows that more than $1 billion     in digital coupon savings was printed or loaded to a store loyalty card     via Coupons.com and the Coupons.com network in the last 12 months,      outpacing the growth of coupons distributed in newspapers 10 to 1.

“Consumers continue to crave savings, and more and more of them are     tapping digital coupons as an important part of their savings strategy,”      said Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons.com Incorporated. “We expect more     brands and more consumers to increasingly adopt digital coupons, and we     foresee substantial growth across the entire digital domain—with     particular growth within social media and mobile environments.”

Printed Savings Exceeds $1 Billion

Printed savings from Coupons.com and the Coupons.com digital network for     the 12 months ending June 2010 exceeded $1 billion. This includes     savings printed or loaded to a store loyalty card and represents a 100     percent increase compared to $529 million the year before. In addition,      printed savings in the month of June 2010 exceeded $110 million, the     highest ever recorded by the company in a single month. Growth is     attributed to several key factors, including continued consumer adoption     of online printable, save to store loyalty card and mobile coupons and     increased use of digital coupons by brand marketers, including     manufacturers and retailers alike.

Increased Brand and Consumer Adoption of Digital Coupons

According to research from NCH Marketing Services, the Internet was the     fastest growing distribution vehicle for coupons during the first half     of 2010,² indicating increased adoption by brand marketers.      In addition, according to the most recently available redemption data     from NCH, the Internet coupon category outperformed other types of     coupons with regards to share of redemptions to percent of coupons     distributed,³ making it the most effective coupon method for     marketers.

Representing 20.8 percent of the U.S. population, 46.4 million American     consumers are now using online coupons, up from 40.2 million in 2008.⁴ Of the 46.4 million online coupon users, 12.9 million do not read any     part of the Sunday newspaper, an 18 percent increase over 10.9 million     in 2008.⁵

Additionally, indicative of trends in the consumer vernacular, Internet     queries for coupons and related terms increased on search engines.      Specifically, searches on Google for “Printable Coupons” increased 67     percent over a year ago.⁶ In addition, coupons are     increasingly speaking up in the social media conversation, where     consumers are sharing them within their networks and brands are using     them to entice and reward Likes and followers. In a report by Razorfish,      the number one reason consumers followed a brand on Twitter or Liked a     brand on Facebook was access to exclusive deals or offers.⁷ Coupons.com     has helped many leading brands with their social media presence,      generating millions of coupon prints and encouraging millions of Likes     and other engagement objectives.

Consumer interest in savings is expected to continue in better economic     times. Research shows that even if economic conditions improve, 8 out of     10 U.S. adults plan to continue to engage in couponing activities.⁸

To support current and continued growth of digital coupons, Coupons.com     Incorporated is increasing its workforce and is looking to hire     approximately 50 additional people, growing the company’s workforce by     nearly 20 percent. The majority of the positions are located in Mountain     View, California, with other openings across the country in regional     sales offices.

Demographic of Digital Coupon User

Data shows that users of digital coupons have higher household incomes     and are better educated than users of newspaper coupons and the general     population, dispelling the perceived low-brow stigma of couponing.

Consumers who print digital coupons have an estimated average household     income of $96,000, a 14 percent higher income level than the U.S.      average.⁹ Interestingly, adults with household income of over     $100,000 are twice as likely to have redeemed coupons printed from an     online source than adults with household income less than $35,000.¹⁰

In addition, 33.4 percent of those who print digital coupons have a     college degree (up from 30.4 percent in 2008), compared to 28.9 percent     of those who use newspaper coupons and 26.1 percent of the general     populace.¹¹ Also, adults with college degrees are almost     twice as likely to have used coupons in the past six months as those who     didn’t graduate from high school.¹²

Digital Coupons, Popularity by Product Category

For the first half of 2010, Ready to Eat Cereal was the most popular     category for both online printable and coupons accessed via mobile apps,      and was the 7^th most popular category for coupons saved to     loyalty cards. Dairy & Eggs was the top category for Save to Card     coupons. The deeper variance in the top categories for Save to Card     coupons compared to the other two lists is attributed to the fact that     brands geo-target campaigns to areas where local supermarkets carry     their products which results in a different set of coupons available for     consumer selection.

Digital Coupons, Popularity by State

Georgia tops the list of most active states using digital coupons both     via Web browsers and mobile apps (including Grocery iQ and Coupons.com     mobile app), based on the Coupons.com Savings Index.¹³ Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Utah round out the Top     Five for states using digital coupons via a Web browser, while Oklahoma,      Alaska, Missouri and Tennessee round out the Top Five for states using     digital coupons via mobile apps. The states in the South and Midwest     dominate the top ten spots on both lists.

Top Categories for Coupon Code Offers

Apparel & Shoes was by far the top category for codes and offers used to     save on online purchases. Other top categories include Home & Garden,      Toys & Hobbies and Computers & Software.

About Coupons Incorporated

Coupons.com Incorporated is the recognized leader in digital coupons,      including online printable, save to loyalty card and mobile promotions.      For consumers, the company’s products include Coupons.com, the 53^rd largest Web property and No. 1 in the Coupons/Rewards category in the     U.S. ^†, as well as Grocery iQ and Coupons.com     mobile applications. For brand marketers, the company     distributes digital coupons to millions of consumers through Coupons.com     and thousands of Web sites comprising the Coupons.com digital coupon     network. The company also powers digital coupon initiatives in 1-to-1     online marketing campaigns—including display advertising, email and     social media programs. For publishers, the company offers solutions to     monetize Web site traffic, including branded microsites, and     Brandcaster, a self-service coupons syndication platform. Clients     include hundreds of top consumer packaged goods brands (including     Clorox, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Kimberly-Clark, and     Kraft Foods), leading restaurant, toy and entertainment companies, as     well as top retailers (such as A&P, CVS, Duane Reade, H-E-B, Kmart,      Kroger, Safeway and Walgreens). Founded in 1998, the company is based in     Mountain View, CA. To start printing coupons, visit www.coupons.com.      To learn more about the company visit www.couponsinc.com.

† Nielsen, June 2010

¹ Marx, a Kantar Media solution, Press Release, July 8, 2010;      Press Release January 6, 2010; Press Release July 8, 2009

² NCH Marketing Services, Inc., Mid-Year 2010 Coupon Facts     Report

³ NCH Marketing Services, Inc., 2010 Coupon Facts     Distribution Trends

⁴ Simmons Fall 2009 – 6 month survey, Simmons, Fall 2008 – 6     month survey

⁵ Simmons Fall 2009 – 6 month survey, Simmons, Fall 2008 – 6     month survey

⁶ Google Insights for Search, July 15, 2010

⁷ The Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report, 2009

⁸ Survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of     Coupons.com. All data collection was done by telephone within the United     States from March 5-8, 2010.

⁹ Simmons Fall 2008 – 6 month survey

¹⁰ Survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of     Coupons.com. All data collection was done by telephone within the United     States from March 5-8, 2010.

¹¹ Simmons Fall 2009 – 6 month survey, Simmons, Fall 2008 – 6     month survey

¹² Survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of     Coupons.com. All data collection was done by telephone within the United     States from March 5-8, 2010.

¹³ Savings Index ranks states based on each state’s     total printed coupon savings on Coupons.com and the Coupons.com network     in the first half of 2010 relative to its population size. With an index     of 195, Georgia residents are 1.95 times more likely to use digital     coupons than the average American.

Coupons.com Incorporated
Patrick Crisp, 650-605-4695
patrick@coupons.com