Surf Stitch use of Promo codes – a marketing case study. How smart online companies are using sales promotional tools such as couponing to forge ahead.
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Surf Stitch use of Promo codes – a marketing case study
1. SurfStitch Use of
Promo Code – A
Marketing Case Study
COURSE : DIGITAL MARKETING
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA
2. What are Promo Codes?
According to Wikipedia, “In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a
financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.”
“Online retailers often refer to coupons as "coupon codes", "promotional codes", "promotion codes",
"discount codes", "key codes", "promo codes", "surplus codes", "portable codes", "shopping codes",
"voucher codes", "reward codes", "discount vouchers", "referral codes" or "source codes". Internet
coupons typically provide for reduced cost or free shipping, a specific dollar or percentage discount,
or some other offer to encourage consumers to purchase specific products or to purchase from
specific retailers. Because paper coupons would be difficult to redeem, typically secret words or
codes are distributed for consumers to type in at checkout. Marketers can use different codes for
different channels or groups in order to differentiate response rates.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupon#Internet_coupons
3. Are Coupons a form of Marketing?
Coupons are a popular marketing tool, classified under the ‘Sales Promotion’ umbrella. Most US
online retailers now extensively use promo codes and coupons and percentage of coupon
enabled retail sites have now reached more than 90% off all the shopping websites.
Coupons are now an accepted form of Marketing tool and are used as a sale promotion tool of
choice by online marketers who have achieved phenomenal results from the use of coupons.
Australian retailers are slow to catch up (as usual) with the exception of a few early adaptors
who have aggressively used coupons to established themselves in the market.
Surfstitch is among the minority of retailers who seem to using coupons very aggressively and
successfully.
4. About SurfStitch
An online only Surf gear and fashion retailer that was established by two surfing enthusiasts in
2008
Currently more than 200 employees
#1 Fashion & Surf gear online store in Australia
Winner of many awards from the industry
Top 500 of all popular sites in Australia
Sources: Wikipedia, Surfstitch website
5. How Surfstitch promo codes are
used?
Step 1: Surfstitch release a coupon offering via a
partner deal site (see an example coupon site)
Step 2: Use enters the promo code at Surfstitch
webpage while ordering
Step 3: Customer receives a percentage discount
on their order
6. So how exactly coupons are useful?
Coupons help increase the basket size e.g. Most SurfStitch coupons require users to spend a
minimum amount, thus encouraging more spend and increasing store sales.
Coupons stop shopping cart abandonment. According to research, a dollar spent on coupon
marketing results in an ROI of 11 dollars in the long run as coupons encourage users to come
back again and again to the store.
Coupons increase the likelihood of customers returning to the store.
Online coupons are a great form of marketing tool for online only retailers to help them move
offline store shoppers to online shopping
93% of successful online shops (generating more than $5 million profitability each year)
introduce 50 or more coupons each year, 99.97% introduce at least 10 coupons each year.
