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Insights and Reports

<p class="font_8">Early in 2020 Google announced it was eliminating the third-party tracking cookie in Chrome, walking the same privacy path as the 2018 California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Limited Ad Tracking (LAT) from 2016. With the release of Apple iOS14 in September 2020 featuring App Tracking Transparency (ATT), these combined moves marked a watershed moment for the digital ad industry to reinvent itself.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Moving to a cookie-less world meant less web tracking data at scale, a shift in targeting options and the need for smarter data science and insights to close the signal loss gap. The digital advertising and marketing industry has adapted by focusing on the following key strategies to acquire and recover customers more efficiently:&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <ul class="font_8"> <li><p class="font_8">Focus on first-party data: Marketers can focus on gathering and utilizing first-party data, which is data that they collect directly from their customers. This data can include website activity, purchase history, and customer feedback. By using this data, marketers can create personalized experiences for their customers without relying on third-party data.&nbsp;</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">Use contextual targeting: Contextual targeting involves targeting users based on the content they are consuming. This approach allows marketers to target users based on the context of the content they are viewing rather than relying on their browsing history. For example, a sports brand may target users who are reading about the latest soccer news.&nbsp;</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">Leverage email / lifecycle marketing: Email marketing is a tried and tested method for acquiring customers. Marketers can use email to send personalized messages to their customers, offering promotions and discounts to encourage them to purchase. * Inclusion of additional attribution models: Incrementality testing, media mix, share shift and lift modeling can reduce siloed audience strategies, duplicate messaging and unfocused targeting across platforms, performance analysis discrepancy and the disjointed understanding of the consumer journey to gain a better understanding of the campaign results.&nbsp;</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">Diversification of advertising channels: Marketers can explore alternative advertising channels such as influencer and card-linked offer (CLO) marketing. These channels offer an opportunity to reach a wide audience while still maintaining a level of personalization.&nbsp;</p></li> </ul> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Card-linked offer marketing is designed to be more private and secure than other forms of digital advertising, such as social media advertising. In card-linked offer marketing with LuckyDiem, advertisers offer promotions or discounts to consumers who use a specific payment card to make a purchase. The offer is linked to the consumer's payment card, so the advertiser can track when the offer is redeemed without needing to collect any personal information from the consumer. This allows advertisers to target their promotions to specific groups of consumers without violating their privacy. LuckyDiem’s CLO marketing is not affected by the deprecation of the cookie and IDFA like programmatic, social media and other forms of digital marketing. Additionally, because the offer is linked to a payment card rather than a social media account or other personal identifier, it is much more difficult for hackers to access or misuse the consumer's personal information.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Marketers are able to realize incredibly efficient gains in their acquisition and re-targeting goals with card-linked offer marketing. In Q4 2022, CPM was 26% higher on Facebook than in Q4 2020, and 15% higher on Instagram than two years prior due to the ATT privacy impact. With CLO, ad spends are performance-based so CPMs are irrelevant and LuckyDiem guarantees ROAS and ROI with a pay-on-conversion model.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">LuckyDiem offers unparalleled reporting capabilities with unique visibility into full cardholder spending behavior allowing for improved measurement and full attribution into all card-linked offer campaigns. Weekly campaign performance reports, bi-monthly/monthly customer LTV analysis, incremental lift analysis, consumer insights and share shift reports provide comprehensive analytics and measurement to maximize potential revenue streams via user loyalty as well as granular and accurate cost data. Armed with these insights, metrics and data, LuckyDiem’s advertisers can be confident in making the correct critical business decisions based on the KPIs generated from CLO campaigns.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Contact us to learn more about card-linked offer marketing and how we can help you optimize your customer acquisition goals to drive efficient and guaranteed results with accurate measurement in the age of expanding consumer privacy changes.</p>

Measurement and Reach in the Age of Privacy

Ever since 2020, marketers and consumers have seen a huge shift towards consumer privacy. Privacy has taken center stage in performance marketing and iOS/mobile app marketing in particular — impacting attribution models, campaign optimization, monetization methods, remarketing, fraud, and more.

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<p class="font_8">As most of the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns have been lifted in 2022, consumers are eager to make up for lost time by dining out at restaurants, booking travel adventures, making home improvements and retail shopping. Despite the recent spike in inflation, McKinsey &amp; Company reports that “US consumers spent 18 percent more in March 2022 than they did two years earlier and 12 percent more than they were forecast to spend based on the pre-COVID-19 trajectory”. Experts don’t see the spend rate slowing down as younger generations are projected to “revenge spend” on lost experiences, such as travel and entertainment.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">While consumers are actively shopping, many brands are experiencing loyalty disruption. According to a 2022 study from Mckinsey &amp; Company, “75 percent of consumers tried new shopping behaviors, with many of them citing convenience and value. Fully 39 percent of them, mainly Gen Z and millennials, deserted trusted brands for new ones”. Providing consumers with a unique offer they can’t find anywhere else is key for brands striving to stay competitive during this spend surge. Promotion Marketing Association states that consumers are 75.4 percent more likely to buy your product when some kind of incentive is involved. Card-linked offers provide an initial attraction of an incentive and stimulate future purchases for the brand.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><u>Brands are racing to keep up</u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">How are brands acquiring new traffic, meeting revenue goals and retaining their loyal customer base post-pandemic? The answer is card-linked offers. As a leading digital advertising platform, LuckyDiem leverages transaction data from 100M+ cardholders nationwide to drive incremental revenue for brands through compelling card-linked offers. LuckyDiem works with brands on a pay-for-performance basis and allows brands to launch customized campaigns while we carefully target audiences based on their spending habits. LuckyDiem’s publisher marketplace consists of top banks, financial apps and digital platforms- representing over $500 billion in annual spending.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">As brands ramp up efforts to keep their name in front of the consumers, LuckyDiem goes beyond maintaining brand relevance. We drive revenue, new customer acquisition and loyalty– all while adding value to the consumer.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Are you ready to see what a LuckyDiem partnership could deliver to your company? Contact us today to design a custom campaign.</p>

Revenge Spending is on the Rise

Is your Brand Capturing the Change in Consumer Spending?

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<p class="font_8">LuckyDiem can provide the same potential reach as a commercial during the Big Game at no extra cost to the advertiser. LuckyDiem is a leading pay-for-performance, transaction-based digital advertising platform company. Our payment-linked offer platform is powered by direct integrations with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and other financial institutions. With these integrations, LuckyDiem understands where, when, and how much consumers are spending at any given time and can hyper-target audiences based on an advertiser’s unique needs and KPI’s. LuckyDiem’s publisher marketplace consists of top banks, financial apps, and digital platforms reaching over 200M+ consumers with linked cards, representing over $500 billion in annual spending.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The new year is approaching and there have likely already been extensive conversations at most companies about your annual marketing budget. For many companies looking for substantial consumer reach, digital marketing will be a significant component of their budget; for a select few companies, creating primetime commercials may be considered. We explored what a campaign with LuckyDiem could deliver with the budget of a commercial during the Big Game.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><u>LuckyDiem flips the traditional marketing funnel</u>&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">LuckyDiem is performance-based, and this model allows us to guarantee ROAS upfront. Some of the most popular digital marketing channels, that can deliver millions of consumers, such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and other social platforms have different pricing models. They charge on a cost-per-thousand (CPM), cost-per-click (CPC) or a cost-per-action (CPA). Although these metrics can be tracked and targeted, there is no direct sales attribution for in-store purchases on these campaigns.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Another drawback of these popular digital channels is that many are priced through a bidding system, so volume and market competition play a substantial role in the price. However, in LuckyDiem’s model, there is never a concern of exponential price rises or getting priced out by competition.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><u>Scale, clicks and awareness for free</u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Getting back to the original statement – LuckyDiem can provide the same potential reach as a commercial during the Big Game, at no extra cost to the advertiser. 99.18 million people tuned in to watch the 2022 Super Bowl, between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams. That’s nearly 1/4th of the US population coming together to enjoy a game on their television, streaming device or smartphone. It comes as no surprise that such a viewed event carried a hefty advertising budget. The cost of a 30-second advertisement spot during the 2022 Super Bowl was $6.5 million. This doesn’t include the production cost and timeline to create a primetime commercial. With LuckyDiem, an advertiser can get a campaign up and running in as little as a week with minimal creative assets required. One thing that LuckyDiem has in common with the Super Bowl is the number of consumers they can both reach. LuckyDiem’s card-linked offer platform reaches 100M+ cardholders and growing year over year. LuckyDiem is now reaching as many people as the 2022 Super Bowl, but LuckyDiem’s model is performance-based, so there is no additional charge for exposure to these consumers. The only time an advertiser gets charged is when a consumer in our network makes a purchase at that participating advertiser, using their linked card. So, there is zero upfront cost and zero risk running a campaign with LuckyDiem.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><u>Precision targeting and measurement</u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">At LuckyDiem, we believe it’s not just about having reach but the ability to target the right consumers, at the right time. Having reach but no targeting makes it more difficult to identify value. The Super Bowl and its viewership are very well studied. For example, in 2021, there were 39.5 million viewers aged 18-49. Beyond knowing the age of these consumers, advertisers don’t have very much insight into what interests or drives action among those consumers. At LuckyDiem, we support custom targeting but with more precision by using first-hand transaction data. LuckyDiem can target specific consumers based on their past purchase history. Advertisers can use this to their advantage by defining their own custom consumer segments. Once the segments are defined, the LuckyDiem platform can deliver unique offers for each segment- from new customers, lapsed customers, returning customers or competitive targeting. For example, a quick-service restaurant (QSR) client of LuckyDiem’s wants to reach consumers who have made 1+ purchases at a competitor but not with them over the last 12-months. LuckyDiem can create a custom offer for this target audience. Targeting is a differentiator for LuckyDiem.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><u>Marketing insight, reporting and measurement</u></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">TV advertising and many digital marketing channels are challenged with attribution. In contrast, LuckyDiem can provide advertisers marketing insights, real-time reporting and campaign measurement with direct attribution. LuckyDiem provides free campaign reports. Advertisers can take these insights to make actionable plans beyond card-linking, just one more perk of being a partner of LuckyDiem’s. Below are a few bullet points covering some of the advanced transaction reports LuckyDiem shares with its advertisers.&nbsp;</p> <ul class="font_8"> <li><p class="font_8">Test vs. control incremental lift analysis: LuckyDiem will use the measurement approach that quantifies incremental spend per redeemer by comparing spend per customer, test vs. control. The control group will be ~10% of the eligible population for each target segment&nbsp;</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">Long-term value analysis: LuckyDiem will track cardholder spending after the first purchase to calculate total revenue driven by new user acquisition&nbsp;</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">Share of wallet analysis: LuckyDiem will track spending of our users across top competitors for pre-campaign, while the campaign is live and post-campaign&nbsp;</p></li> </ul> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Ready to get the reach of a commercial during the Big Game with a guaranteed return? LuckyDiem’s solution reaches 200M+ cardholders with no upfront costs, integration fees or up charges for targeting. In addition, LuckyDiem is 100% performance-based; advertisers only pay when the campaign drives verified transactions. This model allows LuckyDiem to give a guaranteed ROAS before the campaign even begins.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Are you ready to see what a LuckyDiem partnership could deliver to your company? Contact us today to design a custom campaign.</p>

Delivering Big Game Commercial Reach through Card-Linked Offers

Want to give your brand Big Game commercial reach without the cost?

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<p class="font_8">Not every marketing campaign is equally effective. Marketing in a down market should be tactical. Choose marketing strategies that reflect directly onto your bottom line. Provide value to your customers during these difficult times. Choose strategies that can specifically target your desired audience.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">According to a recent survey, the vast majority of consumers are looking for savings right now, and they are willing to brand switch for the right offer. In addition to influencing where to shop, rewards and incentives also have an impact on sales conversion rates (the percent of online shoppers which complete a purchase.) The survey reveals that 79% of respondents are more likely to complete a purchase when they earn cashback rewards.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The data regarding consumer decision-making of where to shop and the impact of rewards on sales conversion is incredibly telling: the availability of rewards and incentives directly and positively affects consumer behavior at both the top of the purchase funnel (deciding where to shop) and the bottom (completing a purchase). Cash back marketing versus other discounting options is particularly effective because not only do you get the benefit of influencing consumer buying behavior, but it also protects your brand since the consumer is still paying full price for your product.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">LuckyDiem’s cash back AdTech platform offers the benefits of performance-based advertising, that delivers real-time, guaranteed ROIs and ROAS. Every single dollar of advertising is tied to a purchase. When coupled with a cash back incentive that consumers are seeking, brands can now wield a truly powerful marketing tool to not just trudge through the economic downturn but leverage it to grow sales and market share.</p>

Inflation Driving Consumers to Seek Cash Back Rewards

Survey: Inflation Driving Consumers to Seek Discounts and Cash Back Rewards

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National Home Improvement Retailer Case Study

In order to reach new shoppers and drive revenue growth, we leveraged the power of coalition by cross-promoting the national home improvement retailer across one of our airline publishers.

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<p class="font_8">The increase in preference of card-linking programs is proportionate to Social Media Marketing's decrease: Card-linking was preferred by 27.7% of study participants this year compared to 21.8% last year. Social Media Marketing was preferred by 17.5% - down from 22.6% the previous year. Even considered separately, the two types of card-linking programs are strong: Card-Linked Loyalty Programs are preferred by 14.5% of the respondents, and Card-Linked Offers are preferred by 13%.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Next on the list of most popular digital marketing tools includes Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Marketing at 13.8% (down more than eight percentage points from the previous years) and Affiliate Marketing / Online-to-Offline at 10.9% (up just two percentage points from the previous year). Affiliate Marketing Online-to-Online and Consumer Opt-in Financial Data were cited by 10.9% and 8% respectively.&nbsp;</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Perhaps most telling is what didn't rank well. TV advertising was cited as a tool preferred by just 4.4% of those who responded (down from 6.6% in 2020) - further indication of the growing preference for digital channels.</p>

CLO Tops Social Media

Card-linked Programs top list of most preferred marketing channels, surpassing social media marketing for the first time

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National Footwear and Athletic Apparel Brand Case Study

We helped a national footwear and athletic apparel brand generate 71% in incremental revenue from their CLO campaign with a $3.46x net incremental ROI

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National Lodging Incremental Lift Report

We helped a national lodging brand generate 131.2% incremental revenue lift from their CLO campaign

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<p class="font_8">The intent of this analysis is to quantify incremental revenue impact of the card-linked advertising campaign. This study helps answer the question, “how much revenue would not have been generated without advertising through the card-linked offer campaign?” To accomplish this, we created (a) a test group and (b) a randomly selected control group from the total eligible population of cardholders. Cardholders in the test group are served the offer and cardholders in the control group are not served the offer. The premise underlying the analysis is that cardholders in both the test and control groups are equally likely to be driven to purchase organically or through other marketing initiatives. The singular difference between the two groups is that the test group is served the card-linked offer and the control group is not.</p>

Top 5 Burger Chain Lift Report

We helped a top 5 burger chain generate 123.01% incremental revenue lift from their CLO campaign with a $8.30 net iROAS

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National Coffee Chain Case Study

We designed a campaign to generate incremental spend by targeting new and infrequent guests resulting in a 4.9x net incremental ROI

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<p class="font_8"><strong>Path to Purchase is Changing</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Even though the vast majority of sales still happen in-store, the path to purchase is dramatically shifting so retailers have to rethink how they attract and retain customers. 88% of shoppers research products online before purchasing in-store or online according to <a href="https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2018/omichannel-ecommerce-consumer-habits/"><u>PYMNTS.com</u></a>. Consumers now go online to research a restaurant, store or product in order to make an educated decision on where to eat or what to buy in-store.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Most retailers recognize the importance of digital marketing in driving consumers who are online into their brick &amp; mortar store, but the majority of small businesses find it difficult to compete in this environment where they don’t have the expertise, time or advertising budget. Larger retail and restaurant chains have the advertising dollars to outspend local businesses in local markets.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>Introducing Card-Linked Offers</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Fortunately, Card-Linked Offer (CLO) technology is leveling the playing field for all merchants. If you haven’t heard of CLOs, you’re not alone. According to the <a href="https://cardlinx.org/o2o-industry-survey/" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_top"><u>Cardlinx Association</u></a>, CLO marketing is the fastest growing segment of digital marketing, with a majority of &nbsp;large companies expecting to double their CLO budgets from last year, and the number of consumer transactions doubling from last year. Despite this rapid growth most of the 25 million small businesses in the US have never heard of CLO marketing or know that it is available to them.</p> <p class="font_8">Card-Linked Offers (CLOs) are offers (cash back or discounts) that consumers automatically receive just by linking their debit or credit cards to an app, website or loyalty program such as Yelp, Groupon or American Express. Once a consumer links her credit card, every time she makes a purchase, she will automatically receive cash back or a discount at participating businesses. Consumers do not need to hand in a physical coupon or show the offer on their mobile device.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>Online to Offline Attribution Solved</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Card-Linked Offers are unique in that they seamlessly connect online advertising efforts with in-store purchases. With traditional digital marketing campaigns, merchants pay for impressions or clicks, which can get very expensive quickly; and they cannot track how many in-store visits and sales were driven by their online ads. With CLOs, merchants can now see the direct impact of their online advertising budget because every transaction made can be tied back to the consumer through the linked credit card.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">A major benefit of CLOs is that there is no upfront cost - merchants do not have to pay for advertising impressions or to print mailers and coupons. Merchants only pay a small fee each time someone makes a purchase. Also, there is no hardware or software needed to get started. Employees just swipe the customer’s credit card and the cash back offer is given automatically.</p> <p class="font_8">CLO technology enables small businesses to get broad reach across a variety of apps and websites. Their offers automatically get distributed through the CLO platform where potential customers will see their offer, and then the merchant only pays the small marketing fee on each transaction that is made in-store.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>Increase Sales &amp; Customer Retention</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">CLOs have been proven to increase the number of in-store visits and customer retention, with 61% of consumers saying discounts and coupons increase their loyalty to a brand (<a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/04/09/1466757/0/en/Driving-loyalty-through-customer-experience-is-the-future-for-travel-says-research-survey-by-Expedia-Affiliate-Network-and-Points.html" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_top"><u>Expedia Affiliate Network</u></a>) and 77% of consumers saying discounts influence where they shop (<a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/tis-the-shopping-season-six-holiday-shopping-trends-to-watch" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_top"><u>RetailMeNot</u></a>). Cash back offers also increase the size of purchase by 30-40%. In restaurants that translates into a couple of extra drinks or an additional dessert, which is “gravy” on the tab.</p> <p class="font_8">And with CLO technology merchants can track customer behavior easily by seeing average order size, as well as the number and frequency of purchases. This knowledge gives merchants the ability to incentivize customers to make repeat purchases and to reward their best customers for their loyalty.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>The Future is Bright</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">CLOs help maintain a vibrant and profitable local merchant ecosystem, because small businesses now have the means to advertise and retain customers like large retailers without taking on any risk. The reality is that the vast majority of retail sales still happen in-store and with the advent of CLO marketing to small business owners, that is not going to change any time soon.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><em>This commentary was posted on </em><a href="https://streetfightmag.com/2019/10/01/retail-is-not-dead-but-small-businesses-need-help"><u><em>StreetFight Mag</em></u></a><em> on October 1st, 2019.</em></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p>

Retail is Not Dead, But Small Businesses Need Help

If you believe the headlines, you would think that most sales now happen online but that is just not true. 94%, or $4.9 trillion, of all retail sales for 2018 happened at brick-and-mortar stores eclipsing total online sales (eCommerce) at just $515 billion as stated by eMarketer.com.

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<p class="font_8">Even pre-pandemic, many restaurants struggled to find an easy and affordable way to consistently bring in new customers. And raising average order value was nearly impossible. But now, worries about how to stay open safely at 25% or 50% capacity while offering curbside pickup and delivery options have changed the way a lot of restaurants do business.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Additionally, most consumers have had to tighten their belts with the economic impact hitting home so there is limited discretionary income to spend on dining out. But one thing has not changed and has become even more important during these uncertain times, the popularity of discounts.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>Everyone loves a good deal, right?</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">The statistics speak for themselves:</p> <ul class="font_8"> <li><p class="font_8">92% of consumers have used a coupon in 2019. (<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/240237/coupon-use-in-the-united-states/" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><u>Statista</u></a>)</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">More than one-third of restaurant-goers search for deals before choosing where to eat (<a href="https://www.retailmenot.com/corp/gui/d1199d1/filer_public/8f/5c/8f5c0d18-e5ce-46db-b767-da89c23a1744/rmn_wp_dining_goes_digital_050217.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><u>RetailMeNot</u></a>)</p></li> <li><p class="font_8">77% of consumers use restaurant coupons. (<a href="https://www.valassis.com/whitepapers/restaurant-coupon-correlations-ebook/" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><u>Valassis</u></a>)</p></li> </ul> <p class="font_8">And the most staggering is:</p> <ul class="font_8"> <li><p class="font_8">81% of consumers seek out dining deals regularly. (<a href="https://www.valassis.com/whitepapers/restaurant-coupon-correlations-ebook/" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><u>Valassis</u></a>)</p></li> </ul> <p class="font_8">Since the majority of restaurant-goers use a coupon, it follows that you may be at a disadvantage versus other eating establishments in your area if you do not offer a discount.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>Misconceptions about Discounts</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">You may be worried about whether or not coupons will positively impact your revenue in the long-term. Does a discount only serve to drive a new customer into your restaurant once? Will they spend enough to more than pay for the discount given?</p> <p class="font_8">You are not alone in trying to balance profitability with marketing endeavors. 52% of restaurant professionals say high operating and food costs is their biggest challenge, while 33% say attracting and retaining customers is their biggest challenge (<a href="https://pos.toasttab.com/resources/restaurant-success-industry-report" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><u>2019 Restaurant Success Report</u></a>).</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><em>Misconception #1 - Discounts Negatively Impact Profit</em></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">A perceived challenge about discounts is that you have to pay for the discount and then you take a double-hit because the sale is smaller as well. However, if the perceived value of the discount is high, then the customer will spend more which increases the average order value and the profitability of the sale.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><em>Misconception #2 - Discounts only Attract Deal Hunters</em></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Once again, 77% of consumers use a restaurant coupon, but that does not mean that all of these consumers are spending less than those who do not use a coupon. On the contrary, a study by Washington University in St. Louis found that shoppers spent $8 more on unplanned items for every $1 coupon they received.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>As a restaurant owner, how do you know which is the best type of discount to give?</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Given the overwhelming evidence that discounts influence both new and repeat consumer purchasing habits, it makes good business sense to start offering discounts at your restaurant. But there are so many types of offers to choose from: coupons, cashback, BOGO offers, etc. that it can be overwhelming to choose one.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">As previously mentioned, you want to give a discount that incentivizes your customers to spend more and makes them feel like they got a great deal, without compromising too much of your profit. It has been proven that consumers will spend 30-40% more if they know they have a discount. In restaurants that translates into a couple of extra drinks or an additional dessert, which is “gravy” on their tab.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8"><strong>Card-Linked Offers are Effective and Easy to Implement</strong></p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">Also, you want to make it easy for customers to redeem the discount. With card-linked offer technology, once a consumer links their credit card, all they have to do is pay with that card and they automatically receive cash back. And with 62% of consumers paying for small ticket items (e.g. coffee) with a credit card and 88% of consumers using credit cards for large ticket items (e.g. fancy dinners) (<a href="https://pos.toasttab.com/resources/restaurant-success-industry-report" rel="noopener noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><u>2019 Restaurant Success Report</u></a>), most consumers can easily set up and use card-linked offers.</p> <p class="font_8">There is absolutely no change to the consumer’s buying behavior which is critical in order to achieve widespread adoption. You don’t have to print out and distribute coupons or issue-specific promo codes for a seasonal offer. Rather, a card-linked cashback offer is digital and can be updated easily and quickly. Consumers don’t have to worry about remembering a promo code or bringing a coupon to your business for redemption.</p> <p class="font_8"><br></p> <p class="font_8">And of course, you want to make it easy for your staff to accept and process the discounts to avoid any confusion at the point of purchase. With card-linked offers, your employees just swipe the customer’s credit card and that’s it. No hardware, software or employee training is necessary.</p> <p class="font_8">So, as you are gearing up to have your dining room expand back into more regular services, it’s time to start thinking about how to get more customers and drive more revenue. Customers love discounts, so make it as seamless as possible to offer the discounts they crave by using card-linked offers.</p>

Restaurant Edition: The Value of Offering a Discount, Especially Given the COVID-19 Impact

It has been a rough few months for the hospitality industry and given the new wave of infections spreading across the country, restaurant owners are in a tough spot on how to keep their restaurants open profitably.

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