New Delhi: The use of coupons across the globe is growing every year. According to the Admitad affiliate network, the number of online purchases using coupons grew by 20% in 2023 and by 17% YoY in the first half of 2024. Indian shoppers are slightly behind the trend – this year they applied coupons 7% more often and increased the amount of such purchases by 5%. Brands are taking advantage of the trend and are actively developing this technology.
The AOV of a purchase with an applied coupon in 2024 is 55.8 USD worldwide. In India it is slightly less – about 36.6 USD. The top 5 cities in terms of active use of coupons and the value of these purchases are Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai.
According to Neha Kulwal, Managing Director, APAC & India, Mitgo, “The real virtuosos in the use of coupons are marketplaces – they account for the lion’s share of such orders. For other brands this is a big growth point, because in recent years the presence of a favorable coupon or promo code has become not just a call-to-action, but a factor that determines where the customer will order. Users now often find themselves in a situation where they have multiple coupons, and they choose the most advantageous and targeted one, and don’t even take the time to search for other options on their own accord.”
Products most often bought using coupons in India according to Admitad’s calculations:
- Electronics – 21%
- Clothing, shoes and accessories – 18.8%
- Home & Garden – 11.1%
- Beauty & Health – 8.5%
- Toys & Hobbies – 7.1%
- Sports & Entertainment – 6.3%
- Automobiles, Parts & Accessories – 6.1%
- Tools – 5.6%
- Other – 15.5%
Among the Ecommerce categories that show significant growth in coupon sales in 2024 are books, toys, electronics, and clothing.
Apart from these, there are several other major trends in the coupon industry that are largely driving its growth.
The growing popularity of coupons in online services and games
While coupons are already commonplace for Ecommerce, they are still less popular in the online services industry, and their usage is only beginning to gain momentum. For example, sales of games using promo codes and coupons more than doubled in India in 2024. Buying online educational courses with coupons has shown similar growth rates. Movie and music streaming services increased coupon usage by more than 50%.
Automation and affiliate engagement
Coupon traffic is one of the most effective sources of sales in the affiliate marketing industry, and the popularity of this tool continues to grow. The boom in coupon sales is positively affecting the revenue of coupon sites – in 2024, their affiliate profits in India grew by more than 15%.
Brands are not only actively cooperating with coupon publishers, but also working on improving the effectiveness of their own coupons. Automation and affiliate networks help them in this. For example, one of the most sought-after tools in 2024 among Admitad customers is the coupon redemption option, which allows brands to automate the distribution of coupons and promo codes across publishers with accurate tracking of results for each partner. Thus, brands distribute coupons not only to their audience, but also to the audience of Influencers, online media, loyalty programs and other platforms.
Mobile tools are a major growth point
One of the powerful global trends, which has yet to fully embrace the Indian market, is mobile coupons. Global brands are actively using this tool based on the statistics about the increasing penetration of smartphones in our lives. In 2024, more than 30% of all global coupon sales will be made via mobile devices – and their share continues to grow.
India has a lot of potential for growth in this matter. This year, only 26% of coupon and promo code orders were made using smartphones. The growing level of digitalization in the country leaves no doubt – brands that are the first to harness the potential of mobile marketing tools will earn the most on the current trends.
