One of the reasons I like the Sunday newspaper is the advertisement section.  I like seeing what's new and what's on sale across town.  A careful browse through the coupons can save you a lot of money.  That's why I always take a pair of scissors with me when I go to read that section of the paper.

As more people spend more time researching and shopping online, that section of the paper is going to be ignored more and more often.  But according to a MarketingSherpa report, those coupons can be counter-balanced with downloadable and/or printable online coupons.

While the numbers might sound kind of low, don't be put off by the 1.31% redemption rate of online coupons so far for 2006.  That's nearly double the percentage from 2005!  With the growth of online retail, these numbers can only be expected to grow.  If you've got low-performing coupon dollars elsewhere, maybe it's time to test online delivery.  A lot of companies are successfully using online coupons to drive sales.

Pier 1 Imports, a brick and mortar furniture chain with a complimentary online store, offers new members of its online sale and promotion announcement program, In Touch, a printable welcome coupon that can be used at any Pier 1 location.  In Touch members also receive additional promotions and announcements by email after signing up.  The company has occasionally been known to send In Touch customers special promotions and sales not available to the rest of the public.

Online coupons can also offer tracking options not available to other online marketing approaches.  Using unique coupon numbers or promotional codes can help you track the conversion rate of a given promotion to see if it's worth the investment to continue.

When you combine the consumer draw of a coupon with the power of targeted search marketing, an exciting combo of marketing potential is possible.  It's time to get out those testing tools and run an online promotion featuring a downloadable coupon.  Don't have a brick and mortar presence for customers to bring coupons in to?  Go the Pizzahut.com route and create "virtual coupons" that customers simply click on to use.

It's part marketing and part psychology:  but there's just something about a coupon that makes them hard to resist.