How Major Coupon Apps like Family Dollar, RetailMeNot, and Ibotta Drive Mobile Engagement
Most consumers barely have time to do their weekly grocery run, let alone scour the Internet and local papers for coupons. So it’s no wonder that nearly 65% of shoppers in the U.S. turn to their smartphones when searching for savings and sales. As consumers demand a higher level of convenience, speed, and personalization, retailer’s mobile apps are rising to the call.
But despite there being over 120 million digital coupon users in the U.S., a 2015 Forester and RetailMeNot study found that consumers are incredibly selective about which apps they will actually download and use. The study revealed that “60% of consumers who use a smartphone to shop online have fewer than two retailer-specific apps on their phone, and 21% don’t have any at all.”
While mobile is an increasingly critical touchpoint for retailers to attract and retain customers, there’s no denying the challenges associated with driving downloads and app engagement. Retailers must offer a compelling reason for shoppers to install and interact with their mobile app, whether through uniquely helpful features, gamification, or cash-saving deals that are too good to pass up.
Below, we share the tactics and features used by leading discount brands like RetailMeNot, Snip Snap, and Ibotta to foster mobile engagement.
Family Dollar
The discount retailer leverages a savvy combination of personalization and gamification to drive mobile engagement. Its original Smart Coupons app tailors relevant offers based on shoppers’ purchase history. Customers can save their personalized coupons to their app account or have a coupon list emailed to them.
In 2018, Family Dollar added a virtual slot machine game called SmartSpins to its app. Customers scan their app at checkout and once the transaction is complete, they receive a push notification with the ability to “spin” for an exclusive coupon, again based on their shopping history. Spins can be earned on a daily basis, which helps drive both in-store and mobile engagement. The company promoted SmartSpins through in-store signage, circular ads, web ads, and email marketing.
Ibotta
Named by The Balance as one of the 9 Best Coupon Apps of 2019, Ibotta is all about cash back. Users can search for and save coupons in the app before a shopping trip; after shopping, they simply scan their receipt and the item barcodes to receive credit for the purchase. Once customers hit $20, they can transfer their cash via PayPal or Venmo or convert it to a gift card.
Ibotta drives engagement through gamification and exclusive bonuses. Users can create “teams” by inviting friends to the app; the bigger the team, the faster they earn cash back bonuses each month. The app also allows users to earn extra cash back by purchasing featuring products or shopping with specific retailers. New bonus opportunities are added regularly, which keeps deal-hunters coming back — to date, the app has given over $500 million in cash back to shoppers.
SnipSnap
Gone are the days of cutting out and organizing coupons. With SnipSnap, users take a picture of a coupon and it is automatically digitized in the app. Shoppers can also search for coupons and download them into SnipSnap, where they are sorted by expiration date and retailer.
In addition to keeping customers organized, the app employs a social networking component and location-based features to drive engagement. Any coupon that is saved within SnipSnap is shared with the app’s entire community of users, allowing shoppers to help each other save more money. Users can also connect the app to their contacts and social media sites to share couponing activity. Additionally, SnipSnap sends coupon notifications when a user enters a store or if there are other deals nearby.
RetailMeNot
The popular money-saving site launched a mobile app to help on-the-go shoppers find savings from thousands of retailers, including coupon codes, discounted gift cards, and cash back offers. The app uses a combination of location-based deals, coupon bundling, and push notifications to keep bargain hunters coming back.
Through RetailMeNot’s “Deal Discovery” feature, customers can enter their zip code to find nearby offers or to plot out savings in specific shopping centers and malls. Shoppers can also enable “On-the-Go Offer Alerts,” receiving push notifications for relevant deals and offers from their favorite stores. The app allows users to save those deals directly into their phone’s wallet for convenient use. Additionally, RetailMeNot mobile allows customers to “stack” savings, bundling discounted e-gift cards with coupon codes in-store and online.
Groupon
The popular deal-finding business launched a mobile app several years ago to help shoppers find savings on-the-go. And their mobile strategy is working — as of March 2019, the Groupon app counted over 195 million downloads and over 75% of the company’s transactions were completed on mobile. The app lets customers browse deals in their area and even while they’re shopping in stores, redeeming the coupons directly from their smartphone. Users can also share deals with friends and family through the app.
Ebates
The Ebates mobile app gives customers access to cash-back rewards and other coupons and discounts at over 1,600 retailers. The discount retailer uses a combination of personalization, notifications, and app-exclusive, time-sensitive deals to keep mobile shoppers engaged. Customers can find “Hot Deals” (new coupons added each week) and “Top Stores” (shops offering double cash back) — both of which are only available in the app. The Ebates app also allows shoppers to select their favorite stores and receive notifications when they’ve earned cash back, when double cash back is offered, and when new deals are added. Cash back rewards are paid out in PayPal or as a “Big Fat Check.”
As shoppers continue to turn to mobile for deals and savings, there are plenty of opportunities for retailers to drive app engagement. Brands who leverage a creative mix of features and savvy mobile advertising techniques like the ones above will reap the biggest rewards.
