MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Coupons.com Incorporated today announced results from a nationwide poll that asked people: “how do you pronounce the word ‘coupon’ – COO-pon or CUE-pon?” In a surprise upset, 57 percent of respondents across the United States say “CUE-pon” when it comes to how they talk about their favorite money saving strategy. In addition, the company also announced the winner in its quarterly Top Coupon Categories and named Household Cleaners & Supplies the most popular digital coupon category over the three month period. Keeping a clean house, on the cheap, is driving Americans to print more coupons for household cleaners and supplies than ever before.
COO-pon or CUE-pon?
The results are in and show that geography factors heavily into how Americans pronounce the money-saving “coupon.” More than 3,500 people cast their vote during September, National Coupon Month. CUE-pon won as the winning pronunciation with 57 percent of the vote over COO-pon.
In addition, the poll found that 36 states, or 72 percent, lean toward the CUE-pon pronunciation, including the majority of the South, Midwest and Northwest. The CUE-pon option won out with respondents in the following states: AL, AK, AR, AZ, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MT, NC, ND, NE, NM, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WV and WY.
The top five states most heavily skewed toward this pronunciation were:
| 1) New Mexico | ||||
| 2) Idaho | ||||
| 3) Missouri | ||||
| 4) South Dakota | ||||
| 5) North Dakota | ||||
People from 14 states (plus Washington DC) cast their ballots largely in favor of pronouncing it COO-pon. Comprised of states dominating the Northeast and on the West coast, the list of states which prefer using COO-pons to save money include: CA, CO, CT, HI, LA, MA, MS, NH, NJ, NV, NY, RI, VA and VT as well as Washington DC.
The top five states most heavily skewed toward this pronunciation were:
| 1) Washington DC | ||||
| 2) New Hampshire | ||||
| 3) New Jersey | ||||
| 4) Hawaii | ||||
| 5) Rhode Island | ||||
For a map of the United States showing the dominant pronunciation option by state, visit http://www.couponsinc.com/crc/coupon.html.
“I’m shocked, quite frankly,” said Steven Boal, CEO of Coupons.com. “I founded this company 13 years ago and have been calling it COO-pons.com from the beginning. Maybe it’s time I change my ways. The country was split along some pretty clear lines, showing that where someone lives has a definite impact on how they ask for savings.”
And the crown goes to…
Coupons.com also released the top ten most popular coupon categories for the three month period ending September 30, 2011. For the first time, a non-food category, household cleaners, took the top spot on the list of the ten most popular online coupon categories. This was a surprise upset for cereal, which was knocked out of the No. 1 spot.
In order, the top ten categories are:
| 1) Household Cleaners & Supplies | ||||
| 2) Ready-to-Eat Cereal | ||||
| 3) Yogurt | ||||
| 4) Soup | ||||
| 5) Nutritional Snacks | ||||
| 6) Portable Snacks | ||||
| 7) Fruit Juice | ||||
| 8) Frozen Breakfast Foods | ||||
| 9) Salty Snacks | ||||
| 10) Refrigerated Dough | ||||
Americans clearly love their snacks as the category claimed three positions on the list, with nutritional snacks advancing eight spots in the past year to land the No. 5 position. Frozen breakfast foods made a big leap up the list, from 46th in 2010 to No. 8 this year, as did fruit juice, which climbed from 33rd to No. 7. Soup and Refrigerated Dough rounded out the list in the No. 4 and No. 10 spots, respectively.
“The top ten list of most popular coupon categories includes items that most of us likely buy on a weekly basis,” said Jeanette Pavini, Coupons.com Household Savings Expert. “This is a great reminder that there are always extra savings to be found. In fact, by spending just a few minutes each week couponing, the average family can save enough between now and the end of the year to cover their upcoming holiday expenses.”
Coupons continue to grow in popularity as consumers are clamoring for more savings now than ever before. At the same time, brands are issuing more and more coupons. In fact, in 2010, more coupons were distributed than ever before, to the tune of 330 billion coupons.1 Much of that growth is attributed to digital coupons, which represents the fastest growing coupon category. Coupons.com offers consumers the largest collection of digital coupons on the Internet and allows consumers to save thousands of dollars a year on purchases they make every day including packaged foods, personal care items, household supplies and other items sold at grocery, drug and mass stores.
Methodology
The results of the pronunciation poll were tallied based on votes from more 3,500 consumers on the Coupons.com Facebook Fan page during September 1-26, 2011. The top coupon categories list was tallied based on consumer use of Coupons.com and the tens of thousands of websites that comprise the Coupons.com digital coupon network during July 1-September 30, 2011.
1 NCH Marketing
About Coupons.com Incorporated
Coupons.com Incorporated is the recognized leader in digital coupons, including online printable, save to loyalty card and mobile promotions. For consumers, the company’s products include Coupons.com, the 39th largest website in the U.S. †, as well as Grocery iQ and Coupons.com mobile applications. For brand marketers, the company distributes digital coupons to millions of consumers through Coupons.com and tens of thousands of websites comprising the Coupons.com digital coupon network. The company also powers digital coupon initiatives in 1-to-1 online marketing campaigns—including display advertising, email and social media programs. For publishers, the company offers solutions to monetize website traffic, including branded microsites, and Brandcaster, a self-service coupons syndication platform. Clients include hundreds of top consumer packaged goods brands (including Clorox, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Kellogg’s, Kimberly-Clark, and Kraft Foods), leading restaurant, toy and entertainment companies, as well as top retailers (such as A&P, CVS, Duane Reade, H-E-B, Kmart, Kroger, Safeway and Walgreens). Founded in 1998, the company is based in Mountain View, CA. To start printing coupons, visit www.coupons.com. To learn more about the company visit www.couponsinc.com. Visit Coupons.com on Facebook at www.facebook.com/couponscom.
† Nielsen, July 2011
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