Promofutures, a consumer study of promotional marketing, has revealed an insight into the power of promotions, consumer attitudes to them and the role of new technology in the communication of promotions.

The study was designed and led by consumer trend and forecasting consultancy the Future Foundation, with a consortium of nine companies: Arla Foods, A&N Media, Boots UK, CPP, Dixons, Headcount Field Marketing, ITV, Filmology, and SMP.

Among the most notable findings, the survey reveals the effect of promotions on loyalty. Almost 20% of consumers said that they had changed their buying behaviour in the last 12 months and had switched brand or product during a non-price promotion then remained loyal to the new brand/product once the promotion ended.

Investigating how often specific types of promotions are redeemed, the research found that almost 30% of consumers say that they always redeem paper vouchers or coupons for offers such as money off and almost 20% always take up gift with purchase offers such as gifts in packs or on the cover of a magazine. Also 15% of the public regularly collect multiple coupons or tokens to gain money off.

David Pearson, director of Filmology, says: “We’ve seen the redemption of coupons rise dramatically since the recession began. This research quantifies consumer attitudes that have driven this pattern of response. We certainly have become a nation of coupon redeemers.”

Another measure of the discount culture changing shopping behaviours is that 65% of consumers look out for promotions when they shop and seek out special offers.

The three most important factors influencing whether consumers find a promotion appealing are; the value of a price promotion; how easy it is to redeem and, third, whether it is on a brand with which the consumer is familiar.

The most appealing non-price promotions are gift with purchase; collecting multiple coupons for money off and in-store trial, closely followed by collecting tokens for a gift or reward.

Consumers have certainly become ‘savvy’ about assessing promotions. Nearly 80% calculate the value of a price promotion and almost 60% assess a non-price promotion before deciding to take it up.

When asked what they would do to get the best promotional offers, more than 50% of the public say they would go online to redeem a promotional offer and a similar number would buy online rather than in-store to capitalise on a special deal. However, it is interesting to note the low proportion of the public (only around 10%) who would become a fan of a brand on a social media network to receive offers or who would sign up to receive text messages about promotions.

The research did look further into the role of channels and technology in promotions. 20% of consumers had found out about a promotion through a social network in the last 12 months.

While nearly half of the respondents had found their most recent promotional purchase from an in-store display, almost 30% had found the offer online. This reflects the growth in offers on websites and in emails.

Around 20% of smart phone users had used their mobile to text someone about an offer, and almost 10% of smartphone users have redeemed an offer or sought a promotions via an App.