Online retailers offering 31% more coupon codes than last year
In an effort to court customers in a competitive market, online brands and retailers have increased the amount of promo codes they offer.
That’s according to new data from AI-powered promo code platform SimplyCodes, which examined nearly 400,000 retailers on the platform from January to June 2024. They found that, on average, retailers issued nine unique codes — an increase of 31% compared to the same period in 2023.
Promo codes are not only more plentiful so far this year, but they also offer greater discounts. The latest data shows that promo codes provide an average discount of 17.6%, up 2.6% from last year's 17.17%. Additionally, the average dollar amount off per promo code has increased by 22%, rising from $27.26 to $33.25. There has been a rise in single-use codes, which are given directly to customers, often through email, and can only be used once. The number of retailers offering single-use codes has increased by 47% compared to last year.
Among the most common coupon phrases identified, SimplyCodes found that the most common themes to emerge were: “Off,” “Save,” “Welcome,” “Free,” “New,” “Ship,” “Summer,” “Love,” “BF,” and “Spring.”
“The data underscores a growing reliance on these incentives by both consumers and retailers amid competition and economic factors such as inflation and cost of living,” said SimplyCodes. “According to a recent study [from SimplyCodes], nearly 70% of Americans say having promotional codes makes them more inclined to make a purchase and 62% of Americans actively seek out and use promo codes when making online purchases.”
The increased coupon issuance comes as consumers are still looking for ways to trim spending and save while inflation is easing. A recent Bread Financial survey found that 63% of those surveyed said they are worried about inflation, although consumers are less worried about their personal financial situation (35%, down from 41% in October) and employment situation (20%, down from 23% in October).
