Who is the social coupon shopper? Understanding the drivers of social coupon adoption: an extended abstract

Marketing literature has investigated coupons as tools that support customer acquisition and trial of new products since long (Blattberg and Neslin 1989). With the advent of the Internet, coupons have become digital and major retailers and consumer goods manufacturers offer them online. E-coupon websites are platforms that enable consumers to browse through numerous product and service categories and download coupons that appeal to their preferences (Fortin 2000). As a result, consumers are encouraged to self-tailor promotions and discounts. Hence, redemption rates for ecoupons are expected to be higher because coupons will be user-requested (Fortin 2000). In recent years, a novel type of online coupon websites called “Deal of the Day” (DoD) websites has emerged (Krasnova, Veltri, Spengler and Günther 2013). DoD websites allow a group of customers to purchase “in a social way”: the more customers purchase together (a specific product or service), the greater the discount they get (Liang, Ma, Xie and Yan 2014). DoD websites put small merchants (such as restaurants, fitness clubs, niche e-tailers) in contact with prospects. DoD websites have been referred to as one of the most relevant phenomena in e-commerce (Magno, Cassia and Ugolini 2014). The majority of extant studies have been focused on the benefits that DoD platforms offer to merchants. However, Kumar and Rajan (2012) showed that the profitability of DoD for merchants is often compromised due to the depth of price cuts. High turnover of merchants could put the DoD platform business model at peril over the long term. In line with Kim and La Rose (2004), due to the penetration of Internet and use of new mobile devices, students are becoming a new interesting target for online companies. Thus, it is important for DoD websites to identify the drivers of college students’ online shopping behaviour if they are to target this substantial market segment effectively. In this context, this paper aims to identify the drivers that influence students in their adoption of DoD shopping.