By David Snow

A new report from Juniper Research has found that the total redemption value of mobile coupons will exceed $43 billion globally by 2016 as coupons are increasingly delivered by mobile apps. This is an eightfold increase from $5.4bn in value to be redeemed this year.

Pivotal Role of M Coupons

The report found that mobile coupons, sitting at the at the intersection of advertisements, payments and loyalty schemes is a key catalyst for the mobile commerce market, especially for bricks-and-mortar retailers and are now appearing as an integral part of almost every new mobile wallet launch.

Increasingly innovative targeting techniques are also being used to deliver mobile coupons to users not just based on location, but also with a holistic knowledge of the consumer’s lifestyle, work patterns and real-time activity extending even to social networking and gaming opportunities.

The Importance of Opting-In

The report stressed, however, the importance of users freely “opting-in” to mobile coupon schemes and not being subjected to indiscriminate and unwanted promotions. Handled properly, the mobile coupon builds customer loyalty as the user enters into a permission-based exchange of information with the brand, merchant or retailer, so that only relevant coupons are received.

Mobile coupons are going mainstream. Cost effective mobile coupon campaigns are now within the reach of smaller retailers providing them with an easy way to drive profitable footfall and build customer loyalty. To ignore the potential of mobile coupons would be to ignore the future of mobile commerce.

Other findings from the report include:

• The integration of mobile coupons and mobile payment data is rare and an untapped opportunity.

• Redemption rates are set to rise in North America and Western Europe after a few years of experimentation and growing user acceptance.

The Mobile Coupons whitepaper is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the study ‘Mobile Coupons Update: Ecosystem Analysis & Marketing Channel Strategy 2011-2016.

About the author and Juniper Research

David Snow is the author of this report, and senior analyst at Juniper Research, which provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.