Predicting Coupon Use from Shopper Demographic and Behavioral Characteristics

We surveyed of grocery shoppers in the Northeast United States to measure how demographic characteristics and con-sumer behavior affect the use of four coupon types (paper, in-store, checkout, and online). We employ logit models to estimate the probability that a consumer is a regular coupon user conditioned to his/her demographic and behavioral characteristics. Readership and economizing-behavior variables have a larger impact on the probability of being a coupon user than do demographic variables, except in the case of online coupons. Our results suggest that targeting specific coupon types using demographic profiles alone is not an appropriate method of coupon distribution. Understanding behavioral characteristics of the coupon users will help target coupon offerings by various distribution methods. Literature Review Most early studies employed demographic descrip-tors to characterize coupon users. (Narasimhan 1984; Meloy 1988; Bawa and Shoemaker 1987). Marketing practitioners often use data from the U.S. Census Bureau to target specific segments with di-rect coupon mailings and other promotional offers, yet studies assessing demographic characteristic