What the Brits want from Promotions 2.0

The team at Mando are thrilled to launch our latest White Paper, developed in partnership with YouGov and the IPM, “What the British Want from Promotions 2.0”. While we’ve seen major changes both culturally and economically since the publishing of our first edition, “What the British Want from Promotions 1.0” in 2021, one thing has remained consistent – the fact that Brits are receptive to, and actively participating in promotions.

The paper explores the British promotional landscape and identifies what Brits desire in promotions, how to design them, and how to maximise participation and effectiveness. We also take a deep dive into the effects of the cost of living crisis and what this means to customers and their long term behaviour, as well as gamification and what the future promotions of the future might look like.

Here are the top 5 takeaways – it’s hard to cut it down to just 5!

Promotions have an enormously positive impact on the brands that offer them, the consumers that participate in them and the environment that they operate in. This year we wanted to take a detailed view of the impact that promotions have and the results are quite astonishing:

• 73% of Brits are more likely to try a new brand when it offers a promotion.
• 72% are more likely to notice it.
• 63% find a brand more appealing when it offers a promotion.
• 57% will spend more and shop more when a brand offers a promotion.
• 50% are more likely to recommend brands that offer promotions.
• 35% are more loyal and 34% are more emotionally connected to a brand that offers a promotion.

Unsurprisingly, the most popular type of promotion in today’s cost-conscious culture is Money Off –  65.2% of Brits find this type of promotion appealing. The top 3 most appealing types of promotions are about value – that is, Money Back, Cash Back and Added Value Reward promotions.

In terms of entry mechanics, customers want to enter promotions online (45%) or by email (36%). But this doesn’t mean that in-store promotions are redundant – in fact, 36% of Brits want to enter promotions in a physical store – a notable increase from 26% in 2021. However, we’re confident this is likely due to the shift in lifestyle since lockdowns were still very much a thing in 2021.

86% of Brits think there are things that brands can do to make people lose trust in promotions. The top 3 reasons people lose trust in promotions are about the terms and conditions and lack of clarity. 54% of Brits lose trust when the terms and conditions are complicated and have “loopholes” in them. 45% lose trust when it’s unclear what the prizes are and how to get them and 39% lose trust when the T&Cs aren’t clearly communicated. There’s clearly work to be done in building trust and improving transparency in promotions.

47% of Britons said the cost of living crisis has had no impact on their promotional behaviours and attitudes, while 53% said it has. That’s almost a 50/50 split. But what’s most interesting, is the fact that Brits are incredibly sceptical about brands offering promotions in a cost of living crisis – 24% think that, when a brand offers a promotion in cost of living crisis, that brand is just trying to make more money. Of course, not all Brits think promotions intents are negative and our research shows that consumers are wary of brands’ true intentions, savvy to how the power of promotions can be abused and are clearly on their guard. This is, again, a reminder to promotional marketers of the importance of building trust and achieving transparency.

Leonie Walker – Managing Director, Mando-Promotions