An executive summary for
managers and executive
readers can be found at the
end of this article
Household purchases have
traditionally been the role
of the woman
166 JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003, pp. 166-179, # MCB UP LIMITED, 1061-0421, DOI 10.1108/10610420310476924
Gender and coupon use
Susan K. Harmon
Assistant Professor of Marketing, College of Business,
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
C. Jeanne Hill
Professor of Marketing, College of Business,
Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA
Keywords Consumer behaviour, Gender, Purchasing, Promotional coupons
Abstract Men have not traditionally been considered a viable target market for most
household purchases and, thus, for coupon distribution. However, with significant social
changes over the last several decades, men may offer an opportunity for sales growth in
many product categories. This study surveyed 206 males and females to identify gender
differences in products purchased, frequency of coupon use by product type, and coupon
source. The study also used demographics and parental coupon use to profile gender
differences. Men were found to play a major role in household purchases, particularly for
groceries, and to be light users of coupons overall. Men also were found to purchase
more online products and more food delivery services than women but to use fewer
coupons. Men were, however, found to be heavy users of grocery store loyalty cards.
Introduction
Conventional wisdom holds that the majority of coupon users are female,
primarily because household purchases have traditionally been the role of the
woman in the household. Although the demographic profile of US
households has been changing over the last few decades, the preponderance
of papers written and research conducted exploring factors that predispose an
individual to coupon redemption remain focused solely on wives/mothers in
nuclear families.
The reported research on coupon use includes an investigation of household
demographics such as income and education, with varying conclusions (see,
for example, Bawa and Shoemaker, 1987; Cronovich et al., 1997; Gonzales,
1988; Levedahl, 1988; Mittal, 1994; Montgomery, 1971). In general, most of
the studies have found both income and education positively related to
coupon use. However, the population of interest examined in these studies
(while often stated as ``families'') is typically the wife/mother. With the
exception of one recent study (Otnes and McGrath, 2001), men as
``shoppers'' have been largely ignored in the research literature.
Changing role of men
While we accept the premise that women continue to comprise the majority
of coupon users, we see an opportunity for companies to enhance coupon
effectiveness by targeting men. For a number of reasons, men have become
increasingly more visible in the marketplace. We assert that the male role in
the household has been changing since at least the 1960s and has gained
Authorship of this paper is shared equally.
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm

Greater male responsibility
Competition for brand
visibility has increased
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003
significance as a result of at least three societal changes. Both an increase in
the average age of first marriages (now 24.4 for women and 26.5 for men)
and an increase in the divorce rate have led to more male-only and single-
parent households. The US Census Bureau predicts a 15.4 percent increase in
men living alone between 2000 and 2010, presenting an increase from 9.9
million to 10.7 million. Also predicted is a 9 percent increase in single-father
households during the same time period.
In addition to the changes stated above, most women are now part of the
workforce (80 percent in 2000). Single-parent households, whether headed
by a man or a woman, and families with two working parents, provide a
different socialization environment for boys. Many male children have
therefore developed a different view of both their own and the female's role
within the household. Similarly, the increase in male-only households has
necessitated greater male responsibility in the functioning of the household
and, as a consequence, greater participation in the marketplace.
Coupon distribution and effectiveness
Coupon distribution in the USA is at an all-time high, while the redemption
rate has proven erratic over the years, with long periods of decline (e.g. 1992
through 1996). Coupon redemption has been declining in recent years from
4.6 billion coupons redeemed in 1999 (Valassis Communications, 2000)
down to 4.5 billion in 2000 and 4.0 billion redeemed in 2001 (Brown, 2002).
In 1993, 86.4 percent of shoppers used coupons, with that figure dropping to
82.8 percent by 1996 (Forecast, 1998). As more stores issue loyalty cards to
collect consumer data and offer associated price savings, it is possible that
consumers view store loyalty cards as a convenient substitute for paper
coupons. Many stores provide ongoing reinforcement by isolating card
savings on the customer's receipt. In the ACNielsen ``Frequent Shopper
Programs'' study for 1998, nearly three-quarters of grocery store loyalty card
holders identified savings as the reason for initially adopting the card (Staff
reporter, 1998).
While coupon distribution continues to be high, and to constitute a major
element in the promotional mix for many consumer companies, a number of
factors have led to a lessening of its impact for individual companies. First,
coupons are being used by an increasing number of companies, including a
greater variety of service companies. As a result, the efforts of individual
companies are less likely to be noticed. Second, the number of vehicles for
distributing coupons has increased. More recent additions to the traditional
distribution of coupons through newspaper advertisements include free-
standing inserts (FSI) in newspapers, direct mail coupons (singles and
packs), coupons on or in products, electronic in-store coupon machines,
coupon booklets often sold as fundraisers, and online coupon sites (e.g.
Coolsavings.com). Finally, the competition for brand visibility in the
marketplace has increased, leading to the institutionalization of couponing.
Thus, while couponing appears to be here to stay, its potential for continuing
effectiveness is debatable.
Research questions
As a consequence of the factors discussed, promotional managers are facing
greater pressure to make promotional dollars count. Thus, some companies
have recently become interested in targeting once ``undesirable'' segments of
the market with a variety of promotional vehicles (Whigham-Desir, 1997).
We contend that men, largely ignored as shoppers for a wide variety of
167
 products and services, now comprise a viable and important target segment
for price reduction instruments such as coupons and store loyalty cards.
Gender differences The broader purpose of this study was to explore the role, if any, coupons
and store loyalty cards play in male purchase behavior. Because we failed to
find any major reported studies addressing gender and coupon usage, we
believe this initial exploration to be fully warranted. Specifically, this study
investigated gender differences and coupon use as described in the following
research questions:
RQ1. Do men and women differ in shopping behavior as evidenced by the
extent to which they purchase products/services from different types
of retail outlets?
RQ2. Does the frequency of use of coupons and store loyalty cards differ
for men and women and does the frequency vary by type of
product? If so, are there demographic characteristics that contribute
to an understanding of differences?
RQ3. Do men and women differ in the sources used for coupons? If so, do
demographic characteristics contribute to an understanding of
differences?

Method
Sample
Investigation into male A two-stage sampling process was utilized to select male and female adults
purchase behavior for this study. In the first stage, students were recruited from business classes
at a large southern university in the USA to complete the survey. In the
second stage, students from a marketing research class were enlisted to
administer questionnaires to additional sample members. Students were
directed to interview non-student adults based on designated gender and age
quotas. The participants recruited by students were asked to provide contact
information. Roughly 20 percent of the non-student participants were
re-contacted by the researchers to verify participation and to ensure proper
research techniques were followed. A total of 206 usable questionnaires,
64 students and 142 non-students, provided the basis of this initial
investigation into the role of coupon use in male purchase behavior.
The final sample of respondents was 48 percent male and 52 percent female.
Most respondents (50 percent) were 25-39 years old or 40-59 (32 percent),
while 17 percent were younger than 25 and a very small percentage
(1 percent) were 60 or older. Only 14 percent of respondents lived alone,
while 42 percent lived with one other person, 24 percent lived in a
three-person household, and the remainder lived in households of four or
more. The education level of the sample ranged from high school/technical
school graduate or less (23 percent) to some college/currently attending
(40 percent) to college graduate (38 percent). Less than 10 percent of the
sample had an annual household income under $15,000, 18 percent an
income of $15,000-29,000, 25 percent an income of $30,000-44,999,
19 percent an income of $45,000-59,999, 13 percent an income of
$60,000-74,999 and 16 percent an income of $75,000 or more.

Measurement
Sample members were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of three
sections. Section one asked respondents to describe the frequency with
which they used coupons to purchase products/services in the three-month
period prior to the survey from the following 11 outlets: grocery stores,

168 JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003


Indication of gender
differences in purchase
behavior
Most men had purchased
groceries during the
previous three months
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003
department stores, discount stores, electronics/computer stores, food delivery
outlets, fast food restaurants, all other restaurants, dry cleaners, e-retailers,
auto maintenance shops, and other outlets.
Section two asked respondents to indicate, for the prior three-month period,
the frequency with which they used the following as sources for coupons
and/or store loyalty cards: grocery stores, drug stores, bookstores, other
outlets offering loyalty cards, coupon booklets, coupons found on a shelf/
rack or elsewhere in the store, coupons on/in products, coupons in
newspapers, coupons received in the mail, coupons found on the Internet,
and coupons from other sources such as telephone books and magazines.
Both sections one and two utilized a five-point frequency scale of always,
usually, sometimes, rarely, and never. Each scale also included a did not
purchase option. The third section asked for sample members' gender, age,
education, household income and whether or not their parents used coupons.
Analysis
The first phase of analysis compared the relative frequencies with which men
and women purchased the specified products based on the did not purchase
option. Responses to this question provide an indication of gender
differences in basic purchase behavior.
The second phase of analysis focused on responses to the two central
questions of the study. Relative frequencies (and any significant differences)
of coupon usage by men and women were calculated for the purchase of
various products and from various coupon sources. A composite measure of
coupon use from any source was calculated by summing scores for usage by
source. A score of 7 indicated the respondent had never used coupons from
any listed source in the previous three months. A score of 35 indicated the
respondent always used coupons from all sources. A similar composite score
was calculated for store loyalty cards at various stores. For the loyalty card
composite, a score of 4 indicated no use of the identified loyalty cards in the
previous three months. A score of 20 indicated the respondent always used
loyalty cards from all store types identified. Each of the composite scores
was grouped to allow simple cross-tabulations.
Finally, to understand better any gender differences found in the relative
frequencies distribution, gender groups were profiled using the demographic
characteristics stated previously. Based on the chi-square goodness-of-fit
test, only those demographic differences significant at the 0.00 to 0.10 level
of probability are discussed in the profile section.
Results
Who shops for groceries?
Counter to conventional wisdom, we found the number of men responsible
for purchasing a variety of products and services similar to that of women.
For example, 36 percent of men were the primary purchasers of groceries
during the three-month period covered in the study and 25 percent bought
groceries equally often with others in the household. A 1995 study (Dholakia
et al., 1995) found only 10 percent of men the primary grocery shopper.
Nearly all men (92 percent) had purchased groceries during the previous
three months.
Gender differences in products purchased
The results of this study suggest little difference in the purchase behavior of
men and women (see Table I). In addition to groceries, a large percentage
169

More men had food
delivered to their home
Small proportion had not
used any store loyalty cards
in three months
170
Male Female
Outlet (%) (%)
Groceries 92 92
Fast food restaurants 89 85
Food delivery services 85 76a
Other restaurants 83 79
Department stores 82 88
Auto maintenance services 81 74
Discount stores 79 74
Dry cleaning 60 53
Electronics/computers 60 51
Online purchases 56 45b
Products from other outlets 49 21c
Notes: a 2 = 2.62; df = 1; p = 0.07; b
2 = 2.61; df = 1; p = 0.07; c
2 = 16.48;
df = 1, p = 0.00
Table I. Rate of purchase of product/service items during previous three
months
(approximately three-quarters or more) of both groups had purchased items
from fast food restaurants, department stores, food delivery services, other
restaurants, auto maintenance shops and discount stores. Fewer from both
groups had purchased products/services from dry cleaners, electronic/
computer stores, e-retailers, and other outlets. For only three types of
products did the purchase frequency of men and women differ significantly.
To summarize Table I findings, similar percentages of males and females
purchased products from each outlet investigated in this study, with the
exceptions of food delivery services, products from the Internet, and
products from other, non-specified outlets.
Specifically, 56 percent of male respondents versus 45 percent of females
purchased items online. This finding is not surprising given that men were
early adopters of the Internet; additionally, men may view online shopping as
less of a hassle than physically ``going shopping''. Significantly more men
(85 percent v. 76 percent) also had food delivered to their home. Perhaps
men are still less likely to prepare food, so when alone or responsible for
feeding the family, they opt to ``order in''. Finally, significantly more men
(49 percent) than women (21 percent) purchased items from outlets other
than those listed (e.g. bookstores). While not statistically significant, a fairly
large difference was observed in electronics/computer purchases, with
60 percent of males and 51 percent of females having purchased these
products in the previous three-month period. Certainly, these results weaken
the notion that men are not shoppers.
Gender differences in coupon use
Based on the summated score across all sources of coupons (coupon booklet,
coupons found in store, on/in product, online, newspaper, received in mail,
or other sources), 25 percent of men and 13 percent of women reported they
did not use coupons from any of these sources during the three-month period
prior to the survey. Nearly half of men not using coupons and 31 percent of
women not using coupons were the sole grocery shopper for their household.
In contrast, 17 percent of men and 24 percent of women in the sample were
heavy coupon users, using coupons often and from multiple sources. Only a
small proportion of respondents had not used any of the store loyalty cards in
the prior three-month period (7 percent of men and 2 percent of women).
Respondents were more likely to have used a grocery store loyalty card
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003

Men were more likely to
have used coupons in
electronics/computer stores
More men never/rarely
used coupons to purchase
items through the Internet
(71 percent of men, 76 percent of women) than any other price reduction
method included in the study.
Only two significant gender differences were found in the frequency of
coupon use for purchasing products/services from the major outlets
investigated in this study (see Table II).
Electronics/computer stores and e-retailers. While findings from Table I
indicate more men than women had purchased products from both
electronics/computer stores and from online retailers in the previous
three-month period, men were more likely to have used coupons in
electronics/computer stores and women were more likely to have used them
for online purchases.
The majority of both groups never or rarely used coupons when purchasing
electronics/computers items; however, 21 percent of men always/usually
used coupons to purchase these products compared with only 6 percent of
women.
Alternatively, 19 percent of women and 6 percent of men always/usually
used coupons when purchasing products from e-retailers. In addition, more
men than women never/rarely (80 percent v. 75 percent) and sometimes
(15 percent v. 6 percent) used coupons to purchase items through the
Internet.
While not significant overall, the following differences were notable:
. Of females, 61 percent always/usually used coupons when paying for
food delivery services, while the same was true for only 46 percent of
men.
. In non-fast food restaurants, 70 percent of men never/rarely used
coupons, versus 56 percent of women. On the other hand, 30 percent of
women sometimes used coupons in these restaurants, compared with
20 percent of men.
. While the majority of each group never or rarely used coupons for dry
cleaning, more women (23 percent v. 10 percent)) always/usually used
coupons.
. For automobile maintenance services, 52 percent of men never/rarely
used coupons, compared with 40 percent of women.

Never/rarely Sometimes Always/usually

Male Female Male Female Male Female
Outlet (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Groceries 40 38 24 31 36 32
Fast food restaurants 53 46 29 30 18 24
Food delivery services 30 24 24 16 46 61
Other restaurants 70 56 20 30 10 14
Department stores 68 60 21 25 11 15
Automobile maintenance services 52 40 18 23 30 37
Discount stores 72 68 15 21 13 12
Dry cleaning 75 60 15 18 10 23
Electronics/computers 66 74 14 21 21 06a
Online purchases 80 75 15 06 06 19b
Products from other outlets 86 75 02 15 11 10
a
Notes: 2 = 5.68; df = 2; p = 0.06; b
2 = 5.62; df = 2; p = 0.06

Table II. Frequency of coupon use during previous three months

JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003 171

 . In other purchase situations, such as bookstores and discount cigarette
outlets, 2 percent of men and 15 percent of women sometimes used
coupons; 86 percent of men and 75 percent of women never/rarely used
them.
One conclusion to be gained from this analysis is that men are buying a
variety of products today. While for most of the products included in this
study coupons were not used substantially by either males or females,
females were more likely to use coupons for online purchases and men for
electronics/computer purchases.

Profiling gender differences in coupon use

Younger women never or Age. Surprisingly, age did not explain differences in the frequency with
rarely used any coupons which men used coupons to purchase products from any of the product/
service categories studied. However, although not statistically significant,
younger men were more likely than older men (28 percent v. 14 percent) not
to use coupons. The behavior of women did vary significantly by age. More
younger women never/rarely used coupons to purchase groceries, discount
store items, and automobile maintenance. More older women always/usually
used coupons for grocery and discount store purchases and sometimes for
automobile maintenance. Overall, a greater percentage of older women
sometimes or frequently used many coupons from many sources while more
younger women never or rarely used any coupons from any source.
Thus, women did use coupons more often than men in this study. However, it
was older women who were most likely to use coupons and to obtain them
from a variety of sources. Younger women did not seem to use coupons very
frequently for the majority of most frequently purchased items such as
groceries and discount store items.
Income. As with age, income did not affect the frequency with which men
used coupons to purchase the products studied, but it did affect women's
purchases of groceries and food delivery services. Substantially fewer lower
income women always/usually used coupons to purchase groceries and food
delivery services, while somewhat more middle-income than upper-income
women always/usually used coupons for those purchases.
Education affected men and Education. Education affected men and women differently in their use of
women differently coupons to purchase specific types of products. For men, education
differences were linked to the frequency of use of coupons in the purchase of
department store items, discount store items and automobile maintenance
services. Specifically, more male college graduates always/usually used
coupons to purchase products from department and discount stores and more
men with some college experience sometimes purchased automobile
maintenance services with coupons. Also, for overall coupon use, male
college graduates were less likely than men with high school degrees or
some college experience not to use coupons.
Educational differences affected one aspect of women's overall coupon use.
Only 3 percent of female college graduates and 24 percent of females with
high school or less education never used coupons from any source. However,
education differences did not seem to be associated with women who
frequently used coupons from many sources.
In conclusion, age and income did not affect male coupon use but did affect
females' use, particularly females who were older and had higher incomes.
Education, on the other hand, had a disparate effect on men and women.

172 JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003

 Parental influence on coupon use
Respondents were asked to identify whether or not their mothers and fathers
used coupons. Those respondents who had not used coupons in the past three
months were more likely to have parents who did not use coupons. Among
male non-users, 39 percent had mothers who did not use coupons as
compared with about 10 percent of all male coupon users (2 = 12.96, df = 6,
p = 0.04). The variation was less clear-cut for fathers' use of coupons: 65
percent of male non-users had fathers who did not use coupons versus 31-62
percent of all male coupon users. For women in the sample, the results were
not significant for either mother or father; however, the pattern was quite
similar to that for men. Over half of non-user females said their mothers did
not use coupons, compared with less than 10 percent of heavy female
coupon users.

Gender differences in sources of coupons

Most effective coupon
distribution vehicle was the
grocery store loyalty card
By far the most effective coupon distribution vehicle for both men and
women was the grocery store loyalty card, with 71 percent of men and
76 percent of women always or usually using these cards. Other sources
were utilized much less frequently. For men, the second most commonly
used coupon sources were products (24 percent) and newspapers (24
percent). For women, the second most frequently used source is products
(33 percent) then newspapers (30 percent) and mail (30 percent). Thus, in
general, the extent of coupon use from various sources did not appear to
differ much by gender.
Only two significant differences were found in the sources of coupons used
by men and women (see Table III): coupons found on/in products and
coupons found in the store. Compared with women, a substantially larger
percentage of men (55 percent v. 34 percent) never/rarely used coupons
found on or in product packaging; contrarily, more females than males
sometimes (33 percent v. 22 percent) and always/usually (33 percent v. 24
percent) used coupons from this source.
With regards to coupons that can be found on store shelves, display racks, or
available elsewhere in the store, female respondents were generally more
likely to have used coupons from this source. Specifically, 64 percent of men
never/rarely used in-store sources, compared with 49 percent of women.

Never/rarely Sometimes Always/usually

Male Female Male Female Male Female
Source (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
Grocery store loyalty card 11 08 17 17 71 76
Coupons on/in product 55 34 22 33 24 33a
Newspapers 51 46 26 25 24 30
Drug store loyalty card 64 51 14 22 21 28
Mail 52 51 28 20 20 30
In-store coupons 64 49 18 26 17 26b
Bookstore loyalty card 76 71 11 13 13 15
Other store loyalty card 74 79 10 12 16 09
Coupon booklet 65 59 21 30 14 11
Internet 89 88 04 06 07 07
a
Notes: 2 = 8.91; df = 2; p = 0.01; b
2 = 4.85; df = 2; p = 0.09

Table III. Frequency of coupon/store loyalty card source during previous three
months

JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003 173


Older men sometimes used
coupons from newspapers
Income had differing effects
for men and women
174
Other findings of gender differences in the use of coupons and/or store
loyalty cards from different sources are interesting, although not statistically
significant. These include the following:
. While both groups used grocery store loyalty cards to a similar extent,
64 percent of male respondents stated they never/rarely used drug store
loyalty cards, compared to 51 percent of females.
. A total of 30 percent of females and 21 percent of males sometimes used
coupons from coupon booklets.
. Of the females, 30 percent also stated they always/usually used coupons
received in the mail, while only 20 percent of men responded similarly.
Profiling gender differences in sources of coupons
Age. Age was found to affect the frequency with which both men and women
used specific distribution sources for coupons and/or store loyalty cards.
However, with the exception of newspapers, age effects showed up in
different sources for each gender. More older men (39 percent) always/
usually used drug store loyalty cards; more older men sometimes used
coupons from newspapers and phone books/magazines. Age affected the
frequency with which women used coupons received in the mail and from
newspapers, with more older women always/usually using these sources.
Income. Income also had an effect on the frequency with which both male
and female respondents used grocery store and drug store loyalty cards.
Middle-income ($30,000-$59,999) men and women displayed a higher
incidence of always/usually using grocery store loyalty cards. On the other
hand, the incidence of never/rarely using grocery store loyalty cards
increased as income increased for men but decreased as income increased for
women. Thus, higher income men were less likely to use grocery store
loyalty cards while higher income women were more likely to use them.
For drug store loyalty cards income had a different effect on men than it did
women. Fewer middle-income men sometimes used loyalty cards and fewer
with an income under $30,000 always/usually used them. For female
respondents, fewer with a mid-range income never/rarely used them and
more females with a mid-range income always/usually used them. In
addition, higher income women ($60,000 and over) were much more likely
to have used bookstore loyalty cards.
Education. Education had a fairly extensive effect on coupon sources used
by both male and female respondents. However, other than one notable
exception, education did not distinguish gender differences in coupon
sources used by respondents. The exception is that newspaper coupons were
more likely to be always/usually used by men with a high school degree or
less (33 percent) or by college graduates (29 percent) than by those with
some college (13 percent). Education had a similar effect on males and
females in the frequency of bookstore loyalty card use and the use of
coupons found on/in products. More male and female college graduates
always/usually used bookstore loyalty cards. In addition, more males and
females with a high school or less education always/usually used coupons
on/in products. Finally, more men and women with some college never/
rarely used coupons on/in products.
Summary of major findings
The following constitute the major findings of this study, with particular
emphasis on those findings relevant to male purchase behavior:
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003

There do not appear to be
``guy stores'' versus ``girl
stores''
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003
. At least three-quarters of male and female respondents had purchased
items from all of the outlets included in this study with the exception of
dry cleaners, electronics/computer stores, and e-retailers, all of which
were purchased by 60 percent or less.
. Men purchased products from various outlets to the same extent as
women, with a few exceptions: men purchased more products online,
more food delivery services, and more products from other outlets not
specified in this study.
. A total of 17 percent of male respondents were heavy coupon users,
while 25 percent had not used coupons in the past three months.
. Men purchased more products online, but few used coupons (and fewer
than women).
. Men purchased more food delivery services and typically used a coupon
(but fewer than women).
. Somewhat more men purchased items from electronics/computer stores
but did not typically use coupons (although more men than women used
them).
. Men and women purchased automobile maintenance services equally but
men rarely used coupons and these men were typically high school and
college graduates.
. Grocery store loyalty cards were by far the most used source for both
men and women, with approximately three-quarters of both groups
always or usually using them. Middle income men were more likely than
other income groups to use the cards.
. Other sources of coupons were much less common but, for men, the next
most frequent were newspapers, mail, and on/in products. Newspapers as
a source for coupons was most frequent among less educated, older men.
The men who obtained coupons on/in products tended to be less
educated.
. Men rarely used drug store loyalty cards, but older, less educated men
were the most likely. Men also rarely used coupons found in the store.
. While large numbers of men purchased products from drug stores,
department stores and discount stores, coupons were not likely to be used
very often.
. The influence of parental coupon use was significant only for men. Men
whose mothers did not use coupons were more likely not to use coupons
themselves.
Managerial implications and applications
Men and women are the same ± at least in terms of retail outlets shopped in
the past three months. Contrary to popular opinion, for the most part there do
not appear to be ``guy stores'' versus ``girl stores''. Fairly equal percentages
of both men and women had purchased products from grocery stores, fast
food restaurants, other restaurants, department stores, auto maintenance
shops, discount stores, dry cleaners and electronics/computer stores.
Men are assuming an enhanced role in shopping for the household. Almost
all respondents in this study had bought groceries during the previous
three-month period and over one-third of the men indicated they were the
primary grocery shopper for the household. The question for marketers to
175

Online traffic patterns have
shifted
The price promotion vehicle
used by a majority of men
Creative strategies needed
176
consider is whether current marketing and promotional efforts should
continue to be focused on women as the primary grocery shopper. If a
substantial segment of men are making household purchase decisions, price
reduction promotions that have traditionally been used to reach the female
shopper may not be effective on the male shopper. Online retailers, food
delivery services and other retail outlets may want to pay particular attention
to men since men indicated a higher rate of purchases from these retailers
than did women.
Is the difference in shopping online a short-term phenomenon or is it a
lasting trend? Since men dominated the traffic online in the early days of the
World Wide Web, it is not surprising that they would be more comfortable
buying products online. However, online traffic patterns have shifted in the
past few years as more and more women have entered the online world.
What remains to be seen is whether the increased presence of women on the
Internet will translate into an increase in online purchases, or whether there
is some aspect of shopping that women desire that the Internet cannot
provide. It is possible that men prefer the low-contact nature of online
shopping and will continue to be the dominant users of this retail outlet.
Can couponing efforts reach men? While a sizable segment of men
(25 percent) had not used coupons in the past three months, the majority of
men had at least occasionally used coupons during this period. The difficulty
lies in identifying a particular source as the best method for reaching men. Of
the sources studied, two ± newspapers and on/in products ± had the highest
percentage of frequent use by men; yet each of these sources was cited by
only 24 percent of men. Also, newspapers may be a less effective medium
for distributing coupons to younger men since newspaper readership among
the young is declining.
The grocery store loyalty card appears to be the price promotion vehicle used
by a majority of men. Manufacturers may want to consider linking their
promotional efforts to grocery stores' loyalty cards. Point-of-purchase
displays could highlight special card savings offered by manufacturers.
Other than use of the card, men appear to be less likely than women to use
coupons found in the store or on/in the product. Promotions managers need
to gain a better understanding of how men shop ± time spent in the store,
pattern of product selection, interaction with in-store displays ± to determine
the best way to distribute coupons to men at the point of purchase.
It is quite possible that the current rate of non-use of coupons among men
may be compounded over time, particularly with the potential influence of
parental coupon use. While a mother's use of coupons influenced the
likelihood of the son's use of coupons in this study, we might anticipate that
the shopping patterns of fathers will also influence young boys of today as
men assume a more active role in household shopping.
The major message to promotions managers from this study is the need to act
quickly in recognizing both the similarities of men and women in their
purchase behavior and coupon use as well as the differences that require
creative strategies for distributing coupons to men and encouraging their use.
References
Bawa, K. and Shoemaker, R.W. (1987), ``The coupon-prone consumer: some findings based on
purchase behavior across product classes'', Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51 No. 4,
pp. 99-110.
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 Brown, C.K. (2002), ``CPGs change coupon media mix and purchase requirements: strategy
results in less products moved by coupons at the retail level'', NCH Marketing Services,
available at: www.nchmarketing.com/us/news/press.asp
Cronovich, T., Daneshjvary, R. and Schwer, R.K. (1997), ``The determinants of coupon
usage'', Applied Economics, Vol. 29 No. 12, pp. 1631-42.
Dholakia, R., Pedersen, B. and Hikmet, N. (1995) ``Married males and shopping: are they
sleeping partners?'', International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 23
No. 3, pp. 27-33.
Forecast (1998), Vol. 18 No. 2, p. 7.
Gonzales, M. (1988), ``Coupon craze cools'', American Demographics, Vol. 10 No. 10, p. 20.
Levedahl, J.W. (1988), ``Coupon redeemers: are they better shoppers?'', Journal of Consumer
Affairs, Vol. 22 No. 2, pp. 264-83.
Mittal, B. (1994), ``An integrated framework for relating diverse consumer characteristics to
supermarket coupon redemption'', Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 31 No. 4,
pp. 533-44.
Montgomery, D.B. (1971), ``Consumer characteristics associated with dealing: an empirical
example'', Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 118-20.
Otnes, C. and McGrath, M.A. (2001), ``Perceptions and realities of male shopping behavior'',
Journal of Retailing, Vol. 77 No. 1, pp. 111-37.
Staff reporter (1998), ``Frequent shoppers cite use of card over price and customer service'',
ACNeilsen Global Site, available at: http://acnielsen.com/news/american/us/1998/
19980416.htm
Valassis Communications (2000), ``Valassis reports on coupon category trends'', Direct
Marketing, Vol. 63 No. 2, p. 12.
Whigham-Desir, M. (1997), ``Cashing in on coupons'', Black Enterprise, Vol. 27 No. 7,
pp. 171-4.
&

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 This summary has been
provided to allow managers
and executives a rapid
appreciation of the content
of this article. Those with a
particular interest in the
topic covered may then read
the article in toto to take
advantage of the more
comprehensive description
of the research undertaken
and its results to get the full
benefit of the material
present
178
Executive summary and implications for managers and
executives
Some thoughts on ``macho'' shopping!
Harmon and Hill make a very profound observation:
The question for marketers to consider is whether current marketing and promotional efforts
should continue to be focused on women as the primary grocery shopper.
While this article is about the use of coupons, it touches on the wider issue of
who shops and whether the strategies used by marketers reflect changes in
the behaviour of men and women. Such concerns are clearly in need of study
but what Harmon and Hill throw up is of major concern to those responsible
for planning and delivering promotions.
There are three issues that are evident from the study of coupon use:
(1) media strategy;
(2) promotion planning;
(3) design and presentation.
Addressing these concerns will go some way towards reducing the problem
of male exclusion from the marketers perception of shopping behaviour
(ironic given the predominance of men in the marketing of fast moving
consumer goods).
Media strategy and selection
Marketers continue to distribute coupons through ``female-friendly'' media
channels and the result of this approach is to exclude men from access to
coupons. While it could be argued that door drops and newspaper coupons
are gender neutral such arguments lose validity when targeting is applied
either to where in the paper the coupon appears or to the careful selection
neighbourhoods for coupon drops.
The problem with coupons is that the measurement of effectiveness is on the
basis of numbers redeemed set against numbers distributed. One suspects
that where more male oriented channels are tried they result in a lower rate
of redemption compared to female oriented channels.
Nevertheless, marketers need to re-examine their selection of media
channels so as to encompass male as well as female shoppers. The
reassessment of targeting for direct mail and door drops, consideration of
specialist publications and opportunistic distribution through handouts and
leaflet racks all need consideration if full advantage is to be taken of the
opportunities presented by the growing number of male shoppers.
Promotion planning
As with media selection the planning of promotions needs to recognise the
dynamics of the marketplace and the increase in male participation in
shopping. Several issues may be worthy of consideration here:
. Shopping behaviour ± perhaps men are less ``practised'' as shoppers.
Men certainly lack (in general terms) the shopping socialization that
women receive. This situation reflects the fact that women were the
primary shoppers for most families until relatively recently and today's
generation of male shoppers picked up their shopping habits from their
mothers ± mostly indirectly.
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003
 . Time commitment ± it is possible that men give less time to considering
shopping that women even where they are the primary shopper. As a
result there may be less chance of a male shopper picking up on and
acting upon a promotional opportunity.
. Seasonality and the shopping cycle ± with more divided families where
men take a primary role in childcare for part of the time, the question of
when men shop may be pertinent. If men only shop when they have the
kids marketers need to consider whether timing of promotions is
significant both on a week-by-week basis and seasonally.
. Laziness and forgetfulness ± perhaps men are less willing to cut out,
keep and remember to use coupons. This is reinforced in general terms
by the effectiveness of store cards which require less effort and memory
than do traditional coupons.

Marketers need to build into their promotion planning process a greater

degree of consideration for male shoppers. One of the questions asked
during the planning process should relate to the way in which the promotion
reaches men and encourages them to act. In doing this we should bear in
mind that, while outcomes are similar (the coupon is used), the motivations
to take such action may differ by gender.

Design and presentation

There is something pretty sissy about a coupon especially when it has been
designed to appeal to the typical grocery shopper (who we assume to be a
woman). If men a becoming more significant as shoppers marketers need to
consider how they design and present the promotion as well as how they plan
and distribute the offer.
Harmon and Hill's findings seem to suggest that men are more comfortable
with using coupons for traditionally male-oriented purchases such as
electrical goods. In part this will be a response to coupons designed and
presented to appeal to men. In the wider field of grocery shopping marketers
need to consider whether there is any advantage to be gained from
``de-sexing'' coupons or even producing ``his and hers'' versions.
As with everything in marketing and especially in sales promotions, we need
to consider the effectiveness of our strategies in the real world. This means
carefully structured tests to assess whether changes in design, presentation,
distribution or planning act to address the concerns expressed here by
Harmon and Hill. The winner is likely to be the marketer who takes seriously
the need to reach out to men as they taking more and more of a role in
everyday shopping.

(A preÂcis of the article ``Gender and coupon use''. Supplied by Marketing

Consultants for Emerald.)

JOURNAL OF PRODUCT & BRAND MANAGEMENT, VOL. 12 NO. 3 2003 179