According to a recent study conducted by ABI Research, 52% of consumers would definitely use mobile coupons for obtaining discounts at local stores. This evidence tallies with the rapid upsurge in smartphone adoption, as consumers become increasingly reliant on mobile devices to help them with every area of their lives.

As smartphone penetration deepens, mobile coupons and other mobile marketing tactics move to the forefront of any well-planned marketing strategy. Some analysts estimate mobile coupons are redeemed ten times as often as traditional paper coupons.

So why are mobile marketing coupons proving so popular with the general public? The answer to that is largely self-evident: paper coupons have been a mainstay of commercial promotion since Coca Cola pioneered their use in the 19thCentury – why wouldn’t consumers want all the benefits of a paper coupon stored on their smartphone?

Search guru Gerald Murphy has expanded this idea on his blog, identifying four key reasons why mobile marketing coupons are infinitely preferable to their old paper counterparts:

Convenience. Clearly, mobile coupons serve the convenience of consumers far better than paper coupons, which require consumers to fiddle about with a pair of scissors, diligently chasing those broken lines around 90 degree angles before pocketing the fragile voucher and trundling down to the store. Seriously – who can be bothered? From a marketer’s perspective, digital coupons are much likelier to be redeemed.

Locality. With the emergence of geo-targeting, smartphone owners can be reached only when a coupon is of use to them. They enter a pre-determined zone within a short distance of the store and are immediately hit with an irresistible 50% off coupon. And when you cut out that hit-and-miss bombardment of special offers, focusing only on customer preference, they are much more likely to engage.

Relevancy. Mobile marketing solutions are becoming increasingly sophisticated in terms of identifying personal preferences. Again, this reduces unwanted, spammy offers that are simply tuned out. When consumers are predisposed to ignore ads, they are prone to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, skimming past offers that might actually be of use to them. Coupons geared towards personal preference are now de rigeur for canny businesses with an eye on effective mobile marketing solutions.

Timeliness. Unlike flicking through a magazine for cut-out vouchers, mobile coupons can be timed to reach their audience at a moment when they are most likely to respond and redeem the offer. For customers on the move, it might mean the moment they have entered the locale of a particular store, but it can work just as well for those sitting at home – issue a special offer on pizzas, say, just before lunchtime, and you can capture people in the throes of midday hunger pangs. But timeliness also refers to an awareness of when not to send text and email coupons. The art of maximizing redemption rates for mobile marketing coupons requires a measured, staggered approach.