A comparison of the effectiveness of e-mail coupons and mobile text message coupons for digital products

An increasing number of companies are focusing on e-mail and mobile marketing to promote offers. The aim of this study is to analyze a coupon campaign for a 67 % price discount on downloadable personal computer (PC) software. The campaign was carried out via e-mail and mobile text messages. Using an opt-in database, we gathered data from more than 37,000 participants and compared the response and conversion rates for both e-mail and mobile text messaging. The results indicated that the response rate for e-mail coupons is higher than the response rate for mobile text message coupons, but text messages yield a better conversion rate and a higher number of total purchases. After calculating the price elasticities for both communication channels, we found that the promotional price elasticity is higher for mobile text message coupons than for e-mail coupons.