Research firm eMarketer now estimates 19.8 million adults, or 9.5 percent of U.S. mobile phone users over 18, will redeem a mobile coupon in 2011, including coupons or codes received using text messaging (SMS), applications and mobile web browsers; quick response codes for redemption online or offline; and group buying coupons purchased via mobile.
In 2012, the number of U.S. consumers who redeem mobile coupons will rise to 28.7 million, or 13.5 percent of adult mobile phone users, eMarketer estimates.
By 2013, the number using such coupons will nearly double, and 16.5 percent of all U.S. adult mobile phone users will redeem a coupon.
Led by smart phone owners, the number of U.S. mobile coupon users will increase by 80 percent between 2011 and 2013, eMarketer predicts, climbing from 19.8 million to 35.6 million.
Outside of the US, mobile coupons have likewise proven popular among consumers, although adoption is far from uniform. Mobile users in Asia-Pacific, particularly those in Japan and South Korea, constitute something of a vanguard, while in Western Europe usage is most extensive in the United Kingdom.
Among smart phone users, penetration is significantly higher. In 2011, nearly one in five smartphone owners ages 18 and older will redeem a mobile coupon, representing annual growth of 117.6 percent.
Triple-digit uptake rates will be short-lived, but by 2013 almost one-third of smart phone users will be redeeming discounts on the go.
Mobile coupon demand
