Discount Marketing Statistics (2024): Do Discounts Actually Work?

Highlights. 94% of Americans redeem at least one discount each year.

91% of Americans check for discounts before making a purchase online.
Online retailers report that consumers who use coupons spend 37% more than those who don’t.
Over 80% of U.S. consumers sign up for email offers specifically to receive discounts.
80% of American shoppers would be open to purchasing from a brand for the first time if offered a discount.
67% of U.S. consumers have made a purchase they weren’t planning on after being offered a discount.

Grouped Bar Graph: U.S. Consumer Used and Preferred Discount Types including the percentage that use the type and the percentage that perfer the type (such as percent off, free shipping, etc.) according to Capterra

Discount User Statistics

Almost all U.S. consumers use discounts regularly, particularly digital discounts.

In 2022, 177.9 million consumers redeemed digital discounts, or 68.2% of all U.S. adults.
Americans redeemed 337.8 million digital coupons and 230.2 million paper coupons in 2021.
There were 47% more digital redemptions than paper coupon redemptions in 2021.
Of the 79 billion coupons distributed in the first half of 2022, only 375 million or 0.47% were redeemed.
86% of consumers earning $200,000 a year or more look for discounts, compared to 87% of those earning between $20,000 and $39,000 a year.

Grouped Bar Graph: Share of U.S. Population Using Coupons by Age, including 18 to 34 years, 35 to 54 years, and 55+ according to Coupon Science

Digital vs. Paper Discount Marketing Statistics

Paper coupons are still widely used, but digital coupons are increasingly popular.

From 2019 to 2021, the number of paper coupon redemptions fell by 43.6% while digital coupon use grew by 11.9%.
In 2021, 67% of Americans used digital coupons, up from 63% in 2019.
64% of Americans used paper coupons in 2021, down from 75% in 2019.
62% of Americans print digital coupons to use in physical stores; 56% will visit a physical store after receiving a digital discount.
In 2021, 51% of U.S. consumers preferred to receive discounts on their smartphone, up from 45% in 2019; for those aged 26 to 40, this was 73%.
45% of U.S. consumers would shop online more if more coupons were available, including 67% of those aged 26 to 40 and only 25% of those over 57.
53% of online coupon users also use physical coupons.
40% of Americans looked for digital coupons before shopping in a physical store; 51% looked for paper coupons.

Grouped Bar Graph: Share of U.S. Shoppers Using Coupons in one fiscal quarter, digital and paper, in 2019, 2020, and 2021 according to Inmar Intelligence

Discount and Spending Habit Statistics

Discounts are effective in pushing U.S. consumers to make purchases that they otherwise would not have made.

67% of shoppers change their shopping behavior based on discounts.
54% of consumers can be influenced by discounts to make an impulse purchase; 46% can be influenced to change their planned purchase.
35% of shoppers buy more than they normally would when a discount is available.
In 2021, 27% of consumers said a discount influenced them to try a new product, up from 18% in 2020; only 21% tried a new product due to an advertisement.
90% of consumers report stocking up on products like groceries when they are on sale; 75% use coupons to decide what they put on their grocery lists.
79% of consumers use coupons when planning their shopping and 64% say discounts speed up their decision to make a purchase.

Bar Graph: US Shoppers Who Will Try a New Brand with a Coupon by age group according to Statista

Digital Discount and Spending Habit Statistics

The ease of receiving and redeeming discounts digitally speeds up purchasing decisions for many consumers.

30% of shoppers redeem digital coupons within a day of finding them, and 82% redeem them within a week.
87% of consumers reported that a discount would most strongly motivate them not to abandon a digital shopping cart, more than any other incentive; on average, 70% of digital shopping carts are abandoned.
In 2014, 77% of U.S. consumers using coupons through a smartphone spent between $10 and $50 more than anticipated, and 17% spent an extra $50 or more.

Consumer Discount Preference Statistics

The high importance of price to consumers drives the popularity of discounts and coupons.

Discounts are a major factor for 74% of U.S. online shoppers in 2023.
In 2022, 60% of Americans said coupons and discounts were more important than ever.
89% of Americans identify price as a key factor influencing their purchases, higher than any other factor.
In 2022, 78% of U.S. shoppers said coupons were increasingly more important to them due to inflation and rising prices.
36% of online shoppers will make their purchase elsewhere if a discount isn’t available and 34% expect free shipping when shopping online.
93% of online shoppers in the U.S. use percent-off coupons and 62% prefer them, while 90% use free shipping coupons and just 19% prefer them.
63% of Americans say they feel like smarter shoppers when using discounts.

Bar Graph: Consumer Discount Sources according to Blippr

Email Discount Marketing Statistics

For most consumers, email is the preferred way to source discounts.

88% of consumers use discounts sourced from emails, more than any other channel; 45% of consumers say they prefer to receive discounts by email.
91% of U.S. consumers want to receive promotional emails with discounts.
61% of those consumers prefer to receive emails with discounts at least weekly, while 15% prefer to receive them daily.
91% of brands use email to offer sales and discounts, 67% of brands use social media, and 37% of brands use their mobile app.
On average, marketing emails that offer discounts generate 48% more revenue per email than those that don’t.
Personalized promotional emails that offer discounts have 29% higher open rates and 41% higher click rates than those that don’t.

Bar Graph: US Consumers' Preferred Discount Sources according to eMarketer'

Loyalty Discount Statistics

Discounts are among the strongest drivers of consumer loyalty and use of loyalty programs in the U.S.

51% of consumers want to be offered exclusive discounts based on their loyalty.
52% of consumers will join a rewards program, and 91% of users said they earned a reward in the past 6 months.
79% of shoppers prefer to receive discounts as loyalty rewards.
53% of shoppers want to be offered discounts based on their purchase habits; 51% want to be provided with new discounts regularly.
39% of consumers participating in paid membership programs did so for consistent discounts.
77% of students prefer to shop with brands offering student discounts, and 69% would make repeat purchases with brands offering student discounts.

Bar Graph: Reasons US Consumers Use Loyalty Programs according to Merkle

Discount and Brand Perception Statistics

Many consumers report that discounts improve their perception of brands that offer them.

93% of U.S. consumers would make repeat purchases from a brand that offers good discounts; 48% of Americans avoid brands that don’t.
55% of U.S. shoppers have a more favorable impression of brands that offer discounts.
26% of Americans are loyal to a brand because of their discounts.
61% of U.S. consumers say that the most important way a brand can interact with them is by surprising them with discounts.
77% of consumers follow their favorite brands on social media for discounts.
In 2014, 68% of Americans believed that digital coupons promote loyalty and positively impact brand image.

These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.

Discount Marketing Statistics