Tired of giving ties for Father’s Day? If you’re still considering what to get for dear old Dad on Sunday, consider the results of a new survey –
Dads want coupons!
And no, not those homemade “good for one free lawn mowing without complaining” coupons. Dads prefer the real thing.
That’s according to Valassis, the publisher of the RedPlum coupon inserts. In honor of Father’s Day, Valassis plucked out some previously unreleased dad-related findings from the recent “2K17” edition of its Coupon Intelligence Report.
“Dads are just as interested as moms in saving money on purchases,” Valassis found, “and in some cases, their coupon zeal surpasses that of their female counterpart.”
It seems there’s something about having a family to feed, that makes both moms and dads more interested in coupons than their single friends. While 98% of moms in the survey said they use coupons at the grocery store, a slightly lesser but still impressive 96% of dads said the same – compared to 90% of all adults.
In addition, 96% of dads say coupons influence what they add to their shopping list, 85% plan to buy a product only if they have a coupon (compared to 71% of all adults) and 54% of dads have increased their shopping at stores other than their main store to get better deals (compared to 33% of all adults).
What really sets dads apart from moms is their use of mobile apps. Dads seem to like savings gizmos, while more moms prefer paper. 81% of fathers use a coupon app when grocery shopping, compared to 62% of mothers. 74% of fathers use in-store rewards apps, compared to 54% of mothers. And 66% of dads use a deal comparison app, compared to just 41% of moms.
The findings may be surprising to some, who hold the traditional idea that men are not big grocery shoppers, let alone couponers. But that’s changing.
According to a study released in April by the in-store behavior analytics company VideoMining, women now represent just 51% of grocery store shoppers. So more men are doing their part. As it turns out, they have been for several years now, as a 2013 survey by retail consulting firm Daymon Worldwide found roughly the same thing.
But that survey also found that men weren’t so great at couponing. Only 15% of the male grocery shoppers who were surveyed clipped any coupons before grocery shopping. Only 25% checked the store’s sales circular before shopping, and just 30% did any pre-shop meal planning.
The newer Valassis survey suggests that men become more interested in saving when they become fathers. And given dads’ apparent propensity for using their phones to save, the increasing availability of digital savings options these days also appears to be increasing men’s overall coupon use.
“Dads are readily influenced by coupons and other relevant discounts before, during and after their shopping journey,” Valassis chief marketing officer Curtis Tingle concluded. “Marketers should take these findings into consideration as they seek to fully understand how dads shop.”
So skip the tie this Father’s Day. If you want Dad to spend the day doing what he really enjoys – send him to the store.
