AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- RetailMeNot.com (www.retailmenot.com), the largest digital coupon website in the United States, today released an initial set of data from its first-ever international survey measuring the couponing and shopping behaviors of consumers in 11 countries around the world. The survey, conducted with Ipsos Public Affairs (www.ipsos.com) which interviewed more than 10,000 respondents, included consumers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, India, Australia and China.

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"Retail watchers will be fascinated by consumer behaviors and attitudes about shopping and saving in some of the most active e-commerce countries around the world," says John Faith, the senior vice president of external affairs for RetailMeNot. "We look forward to releasing even more data in the upcoming months that will help us to understand how U.S. consumers differ from others around the world." 

A Coupon Nation

Compared with the European and BRIC shoppers surveyed, Americans are among the most frugal shoppers and deal hunters.

When asked questions about attitudes related to coupon usage, the majority of Americans (53%) said they value brands that offer coupons because coupons help them buy the things they want or need. Coupons are valued similarly by 52% of consumers surveyed in Canada, 50% in Great Britain, 48% in Germany, 47% in India and 31% in China.

Nearly half (48%) of consumers in the United States surveyed said that they use coupons proudly as a symbol of their savvy shopping skills. American pride in coupon usage also led the pack among all 11 countries surveyed.

Saving: Yes, please!

More than 3 out of every 4 (76%) U.S. respondents think saving money is at least somewhat important to them in their everyday life, including nearly half (46%) who think it's very important and look for opportunities to save money every day.

• Consumers surveyed in the U.S. and India (76%) rank the highest among international shoppers who think saving is important, with Australia (73%) and Canada (71%) trailing close behind. Only 15% of consumers surveyed in Sweden think that looking for opportunities to save money every day is very important.
• Women in the U.S. like to save and men … well, not as much. Over half of females (53%) think it's very important to save versus only 38% of American males.
• Over half of U.S. residents (53%) surveyed favor brands that issue coupons online or in-store because they help them buy the things they want or need.
• U.S. consumers (20%) seem less interested in buying expensive brand-name items and prefer cheaper non-branded products (35%) versus high rollers in India (52%) who prefer branded items even if they cost more.

American online shoppers are swayed by a good deal, trust and reviews

More than half of shoppers surveyed in the U.S. and France (56%) admit that a deal, discount or sale influences their purchase decision versus 50% of consumers surveyed in India and only 36% in China.

• The majority of consumers surveyed (63%) in the United Kingdom said that when shopping online, a deal, discount or sale influences their purchase decisions, followed by 58% of consumers surveyed in Australia and Germany. 
• U.S. females (61%) are more influenced by a deal than U.S. males (50%) are.
• U.S. deal seekers are most prevalent in the Northeast, with 63% of consumers saying a deal influences their purchase decisions.

Another 51% of Americans are affected by reviews, ratings or other opinions of customers who have previously purchased the product.

• People in the Northeast (60%) region of the U.S. rank significantly higher than those in the South (49%) and West (47%) for saying they are impacted by product or service reviews in their purchase decisions.

A big contender in swaying potential purchases when shopping online is trustworthiness of the retailer. Forty-five percent of shoppers in the U.S. say that this is a significant part in their buying decision. Consumers in several other countries surveyed place even more significance than consumers in the U.S. on the trustworthiness of a retailer, in particular Great Britain (51%), and to a lesser extent Australia (46%) and India (46%). Consumers surveyed in Sweden (22%) ranked last among 11 countries surveyed in saying that a retailer's trustworthiness was an important factor in their purchase decision.

It's easier (and cheaper) online

When it comes to motivations to shop online rather than in-store, those in China (61%), Great Britain (58%) and Australia (52%) rank highest when finding items to be cheaper online among consumers in the 11 countries surveyed. 

• Possibly related to the rise of omni-channel pricing strategies in the United States (where comparable pricing is online and in-store), only 4 in 10 American consumers surveyed (41%) said they opt to shop online because they generally find items to be less expensive online.

Nearly half of U.S. shoppers (47%) choose to shop online versus in-store for the same product so they can easily compare prices at different retailers. Germany and Great Britain lead the pack at 53%.

Forty-seven percent of U.S. consumers surveyed prefer to shop online rather than in-store because they can access stores that they don't live near. Forty-four percent of Canadian survey respondents said the same thing.

• Great Britain (53%) and Australia (50%) lead the countries surveyed with consumers who also give this as a reason to shop online.
• The inverse is true in China, with only 15% saying that this would be a reason to choose to shop online.

Survey Methodology:
The online survey was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs from June 10–24, 2013, among a total of 10,009 adults across 11 countries. This included roughly 1,000 interviews in each of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, the United States, Canada, Great Britain, India and China, and 500 interviews in Sweden and the Netherlands.  Results are weighted to the general adult population ages 16–64 in each country (or in the U.S. and Canada, 18–64). 

About RetailMeNot.com

RetailMeNot.com (www.retailmenot.com) is the most widely used digital coupon site in the United States. Our mission is to help consumers save money and enjoy a hassle-free discount shopping experience. Since November 2006, our users have shared hundreds of thousands of digital coupons from retailers. Digital coupons are rated and ranked by users, ensuring that quality deals rise to the top and expired coupons drop down the list. RetailMeNot.com is operated by RetailMeNot, Inc., the world's leading marketplace for digital coupons.

Shopping on the go? Download the RetailMeNot Coupons app for iPhone and Android phones to access Hot Deals, browse top coupons, popular stores and categories and get thousands of online and in-store coupons to shop when you want, where you want. Make sure to "like" RetailMeNot.com and authorize the RetailMeNot app on Facebook, follow the company via Twitter @retailmenot and add us on Google+. Consumers can sign up for RetailMeNot's Online and In-Store Coupons Newsletter by visiting: http://www.retailmenot.com/signup. 

About RetailMeNot, Inc.
RetailMeNot, Inc. (www.retailmenot.com/corp/) operates the world's largest digital coupon marketplace. The company's websites enable consumers across the globe seeking to save money to find hundreds of thousands of digital coupons and offers from retailers and brands. RetailMeNot, Inc. experienced more than 450 million consumer visits to its websites in 2012. The RetailMeNot, Inc. portfolio of coupon and deal websites includes www.RetailMeNot.com, the leading digital coupon site in the United States; www.VoucherCodes.co.uk, the leading digital coupon site in the United Kingdom; www.Deals.com in Germany; www.ActiePagina.nl, a leading digital coupon site in the Netherlands; Bons-de-Reduction.com and www.Ma-Reduc.com, leading digital coupon sites in France; www.Poulpeo.com, a leading digital coupon site with cash back in France; and www.Deals2Buy.com, a leading discount offer site in North America.  RetailMeNot, Inc. went public in July 2013 and is listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol, "SALE."  Investors interested in learning more about the company can visit: http://investor.retailmenot.com/.

Be sure to "like" RetailMeNot, Inc. on Facebook and follow the company via Twitter @retailmenotinc.

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SOURCE RetailMeNot, Inc.