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Access to Online Discounts Would Drive Brand Loyalty Among College Students, Survey Finds
[November 24, 2014]

Access to Online Discounts Would Drive Brand Loyalty Among College Students, Survey Finds


MCLEAN, Va. --(Business Wire)--

College students are looking for student discounts, and they are rewarding the brands that provide them with targeted offers by shopping more often at those stores. Ninety-six percent of student shoppers would be more likely to make a repeat purchase from a brand that offers student discounts according to survey results gathered by digital affinity group verification provider ID.me.

The study, conducted in July 2014, canvassed more than 600 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 about their online shopping habits and brand loyalty. Analysis of the data found that while access to student discounts online is limited because most retailers do not have a way to check student IDs online, the latent demand for online student discounts is strong -- 78 percent of students regularly spend time searching for a student discount or coupon code before making a purchase online. Furthermore, 97 percent of respondents said they would probably or definitely shop online more often if student discounts were available.

Although many stores like J.Crew and Eddie Bauer offer in-store student discount programs for shoppers with a valid student ID, the same offers are not present online because retailers lack a way to verify the student status of online shoppers. Survey results indicate the lost revenue to these brands is significant because almost 80 percent of students make purchases online several times a month, with 61 percent spending between $51 and $500.

ID.me solves this problem for retailers with an award-winning digital verification platform featured by the Wall Street Journal and the United States Department of Commerce that allows retailers to take an omnichannel approach to student discounts and to discounts for other affinity groups.

"Ninety-six percent of the students we surveyed indicated that they would be more likely to shop with a brand that offers nline student discounts. That should be a clear call to action for retailers that value the college-age demographic," said Blake Hall, CEO of ID.me. "Our experience with brands leveraging ID.me's technology has shown that engaging affinity groups online with customized discounts and special offers has a direct correlation to brand loyalty and incremental sales."



Results show that retailers have a significant opportunity to increase word-of-mouth marketing by offering student discounts online. Ninety-five percent of respondents indicated they are likely to tell others when a brand offers student discounts. Nearly 60 percent of respondents who had used a student discount in the past 30 days said they told between one and four people about the discount. These responses suggest that retailers who offer student discounts online ahead of their competitors will capture increased market share within the student demographic.

"Retailers are often deterred from offering online student discounts because .edu e-mails aren't available to about a third of students and many alumni e-mail addresses end in .edu even though they are not eligible for student discounts. Due to this limitation, fears of fraud and abuse and brand erosion lead many retailers to limit their student discount program to brick and mortar locations," said Hall. "ID.me solves this legacy problem. ID.me's technology can verify 21.4 million college and graduate students in real-time, more than 99 percent of college students, so retailers can rest assured their program is both accessible and secure."


Students appear to be ready for a digital student ID card like the one provided by ID.me. Eighty-five percent of student respondents said they would sign up for a service that verifies their student status and allows them to access student discounts from online retailers.

A full report with the results of the survey is available online. In addition, an infographic summarizing the survey data can be viewed here.

About ID.me

Veteran-founded and led, ID.me is the first digital identity network that allows consumers to prove who they are online while controlling how their information is shared with brands. For participating organizations, ID.me acts as a trusted intermediary, capable of verifying consumer identity and group affiliations in real-time. This allows brands to ensure a consistent customer experience across offline and online channels while reducing costs, fraud and security risks associated with manual verification. ID.me has partnered with over 125 leading brands, including Under Armour, Overstock.com, Uber, Dell (News - Alert), and Starbucks. ID.me's plug-in technology works with the leading ecommerce platforms, including Magento, Demandware and Spree Commerce. For more information, visit https://www.id.me/partner-with-us, Facebook or Twitter.


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