E-commerce operations: coupon product analysis

On e-commerce platforms, issuing coupons is a very common marketing activity. Users can get a certain amount of discount by receiving coupons. Different locations, coupon types, and collection methods will affect users' use of coupons. This article will analyze these issues and is recommended for students who are interested in coupons.

After working in data analysis for a year, I switched to event planning. The core of my work is industry event planning and coupon investment activities. We conducted a user demand analysis based on the problems existing in the current marketing activity system, and established simple optimized system pages and investment promotion activity rules.

1. Coupon Introduction

According to different classification methods, coupons can be divided into different types. The following are four ways to classify coupons: classification by the way coupons are stacked, classification by the way coupons are collected, classification by the location where coupons are collected, and classification by the function of coupons.

1. Classification by the stacking method of coupons

The coupons are divided into stackable coupons and non-stackable coupons according to the type. Different types of coupons have different ways of stacking during settlement, as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1 Settlement methods using different coupons

2. Classification by coupon collection method

There are two ways to collect coupons: active collection and passive push. Active collection means that users actively collect it in the display position, and passive push is mainly pushed by the platform through the user's account. The platform reminds users to use coupons through text messages or push notifications, as shown in Figure 2, and the amount can be automatically deducted when users pay for their purchases.

Figure 2 The platform uses SMS to remind you to receive coupons

3. Classification by voucher collection location

According to the location where the coupons are collected, they are divided into coupon center coupons, coupons displayed on the merchant details page, coupons displayed at the venue, and coupons obtained through activities. The most common way to collect coupons is at the coupon center, which is usually displayed on the home page or in the My Icon navigation. As shown in Figure 3, users can collect various coupons in various categories. The wide variety of coupons tempts users to consume.

Figure 3 Coupons displayed at the coupon center of the e-commerce platform and at specific venues

4. Classification by voucher usage function

According to the usage function of the coupons, they are divided into no-threshold coupons, full-discount coupons, freight coupons, etc.

• No-threshold coupons : There is no limit on the order consumption amount, and they can be directly deducted at the time of settlement. Generally, the quantity issued is small and the denomination is small.
• Coupons for discounts on purchases over a certain amount: These coupons have a usage threshold. Generally speaking, the higher the threshold, the larger the coupon denomination. The core of coupons with high threshold denominations is to increase the average order value. For products with high unit prices, there are generally corresponding coupons to support them, so that consumers can feel greater discounts during the consumption process and improve conversion rates.
• Shipping coupons : These coupons are mainly used to offset shipping costs and are more commonly used in remote areas where shipping is not free.

2. The role of coupons

Ultimately, coupons are a marketing tool that is currently widely used by major platforms and accepted by users. Different coupons have different functions, but the core purpose is to solve operational problems such as attracting new customers, driving traffic, repeat purchases, promoting activation, increasing average order value, and strengthening user minds.

1. Attract new customers

For developing platforms or stores, using coupons to attract new customers is very effective. Ordinary visitors register for the first time and then receive new member coupons. Driven by the strength of activities such as new member coupons, they become consumers and then become loyal customers. The platform or store will set the validity period of the new coupons to allow first-time customers to experience limited-time discounts. The mentality of "getting the best deal" drives them to place orders eagerly.

2. Drainage

Different platforms or stores will have their own traffic-generating products. Taking Suning.com as an example, Apple mobile phones and Apple wireless headphones among 3C products are both good traffic-generating products. The 10 billion yuan subsidy, which is very popular at this stage, is also a marketing tool used by major platforms to attract traffic. When users are attracted by these marketing tools, the likelihood of consumption increases.

3. Increase the average order value

The basis for increasing the average order value is that the coupon threshold is set high. In order to use high-value coupons, consumers may choose higher-priced products. According to GMV = average order value * number of buyers, products with high average order value can bring higher GMV.

3. About the system flow of coupons

We have introduced a series of business knowledge about coupons above, which shows that coupons play a vital role in e-commerce platforms. Regarding activity processes and rules, major platforms are also in the process of continuous optimization. The process and rules of the activity will be summarized from the following four dimensions.

1. Application for activity quota

Coupons are a direct reflection of an activity. The logic for applying for activity quotas is related to the business, involving sales targets and revenue from different channels.

The analysis is conducted from the following points: sales forecast without activity subsidies, sales gap, ROI of the activity, and related revenue. The various revenues determine the amount of activity expenses, which is equal to the sales generated by the ROI*activity intensity. The sales generated by the activity intensity makes up for the sales gap between sales without activity subsidies and sales targets.

• Sales forecast without activity subsidies : Estimated sales under natural traffic. Analyze the sales structure and sales volume of products under the category, where products are divided into new products, hot-selling products, promotional final payments, etc. The marketing strategies and tools used by different products are also different. By combining a series of popular marketing strategies such as social marketing, 10 billion subsidies, and flash sales, the approximate sales generated are analyzed.
• Gap between sales targets : Sales targets are determined based on multiple factors such as industry trends and sales during the same period. Sales target - estimated sales = sales gap.
• ROI of an activity : ROI refers to return on investment, which refers to the value that should be returned through investment, that is, the economic return that an enterprise obtains from an investment activity. ROI = amount paid for coupon orders/amount used for coupons. The higher the ROI, the higher the return to the business, which means the more successful the campaign. In the e-commerce industry, different activities have different ROIs, but for a stable and developing platform, the ROI of the same type of marketing activities will not differ much, and the ROI value will stabilize at a certain fixed value.
• Income : Activity expenses ultimately come from project income. The revenue of e-commerce platforms is divided into sales gross profit, commission, advertising, etc., and a certain proportion of the revenue is included in the marketing activity expenses.

2. Allocation of activity expenses

Different types of promotional activities can be allocated different proportions of activity expenses. E-commerce has many marketing nodes, which can be divided into S+, S, A+, A and other levels of promotion according to their importance. The higher the level of the promotion, the higher the sales target, and the more coupons are needed to drive more sales. As a result, more activity expenses can be allocated to this promotion.

3. Activity investment registration

When registering for an event, you can create a coupon and sign up for related products. Setting up coupons includes three major sections: introduction to event details, introduction to event rules, and introduction to product selection and registration rules.

Introduction to event details: mainly introduce the name, target, main content, investment requirements, etc. of the event. The organizer can give a brief introduction to the event.

Introduction to activity rules: Activity rule settings include activity type, activity time, coupon denomination, and display area. Activity type refers to different types of marketing activities, common ones include limited-time discounts, platform coupons, appointment reservations, etc.

Activity time refers to the start and end time of the activity

Daily coupon collection time: can be set to all-day coupon collection and designated time period coupon collection. All-day coupon collection can set the number of coupons that can be collected throughout the day. Designated time period coupon collection is divided into time periods, and a fixed number of coupons is set for each time period.

The coupon denomination and the number of coupon activities must be set, and the coupon display area is set to the location where the coupon can be displayed.

Introduction to product selection registration rules: set registration time and event review time, registration threshold for stores and products. Stores and products that are overdue or do not meet the requirements cannot register for this marketing activity.

Audit: It can be set to manual audit or system audit according to the actual situation.

Event release: After the coupon is set up, it will be approved by the finance department and then you can sign up for product selection. Participants can enjoy the discount of this coupon during the event period.

Supplementary investment promotion: If there are fewer product registrations within the registration period, the registration period can be extended and additional investment promotion can be conducted to allow more selected products to participate in this marketing activity.

4. Activity review

The activity review needs to be conducted from the following dimensions: the number of coupons collected, the coupon collection rate, the effective usage rate of coupons, the coupon payment amount, the ROI of coupons, and the number of new buyers using coupons.

• The number of coupons received: refers to the number of coupons successfully received by users. The specific analysis is based on two points: time period and denomination. The number of coupons received in different time periods and denominations is different.
• Coupon collection rate: (collection quantity/total issuance quantity) * 100%;
• Coupon effective usage rate: (effective usage amount / usage amount) * 100%; specifically analyze the usage rate of coupons of different denominations corresponding to brands and product models;
• Coupon payment amount: the cumulative payment amount of orders that successfully use the coupon;
• Coupon ROI: the amount paid for the coupon order/coupon amount. The higher the ROI, the better the campaign effect.
• Number of new buyers using coupons: The higher the number of new buyers, the more significant the effect of the coupon in attracting new buyers.

IV. Summary of the system process issues regarding coupons

There are still many problems in the current marketing process. The following are the problems summarized:

1. For activities with good results, how to increase the number of coupons or extend the activity time. For additional investment promotion at existing entrances, the same activity needs to go through the approval process repeatedly. If you need to increase the number of coupons or extend the event time, you need to follow the above process to re-establish the investment promotion activity.
2. Regarding registration and product selection, how to clearly view the product selection details. The registered store is displayed in the page interaction, and the registered product selection is clearly displayed. If you want to view the registered products, you need to click again. Check the selected products with as few steps as possible. For operation personnel, all product parameters are usually exported and matched with the data in the existing product library before they can see the specific product names of the batch.
3. How to clearly set the system's threshold for goods. Products that do not meet the activity requirements can also be registered. If there are many products that do not meet the activity requirements, how can the operators quickly clear them in the background?

summary

Coupons are the most common marketing activity in e-commerce. The rules and system settings of coupons are the basis and core modules of marketing activities. The detailed optimization plan of the coupon system will be discussed in detail in the next article, so stay tuned.

Author: Caroline Source: Caroline