Online Coupons Mean Business For Retailers

Media Release 26 July 2007

Online Coupons Mean Business For Retailers

A company of leading local search engines is putting retailers front-and-centre in New Zealand’s online marketplace. On 1 August, apnfinda Ltd will break new ground by introducing special-offer coupons which can be linked to individual business listings across its three local search sites.

The new coupon function will enable retailers to measure exactly how users are visiting and responding to their websites, by allowing businesses to load special offers or discounts on to their listings. Users can print out coupons to present in-store – enabling retailers to track the effectiveness of each special.

More than 500,000 unique users per month visit apnfinda Ltd’s three business-to-consumer websites: finda.co.nz, New Zealand’s fastest growing online search engine; the award-winning wises.co.nz map site; and the business directory UBD.co.nz.

Retailers can list for free across all three sites, and there is no charge to load coupons on to listings. Businesses also have the option to upgrade their presence on the sites by purchasing one of several advertising packages, starting at $195 + gst per year.

Shane Bradley, apnfinda’s Chief of Products, said the challenge for his business was to meet the demands of retailers and business owners who, as the online market continued to expand, were asking how online channels would work better than traditional media. “The great advantage of these coupons over ways of promoting special offers, and of online over all other media, is trackability. You know exactly how your business is being seen, and by how many people.”

He said that as more businesses loaded coupons on to their listings, users would be able to search for special offers from a particular type of retailer; for example, any discounts being offered by wine retailers. In future, consumers will be able to send virtual coupons to their mobile phones to present in-store.

Mr Bradley pointed out that because all of apnfinda’s data is drawn from one database, all visitor and click-through statistics across the three sites can be tracked and recorded for retailers to view. Businesses can edit their listing at any time. “Businesses need consumers to have a channel for finding fast, relevant results online, and they need to be able to measure how their online profile is being viewed and received, and that is what apnfinda’s products provide.”

apnfinda CEO Dwayne Alexander said the development of coupons was an important stage in his company’s bid to move New Zealand’s competitive online environment to the level of comparable countries. “Local search – that is, a search enquiry that returns the ‘where’ as well as the ‘what’ – produces results that are a lot more relevant for Kiwi businesses than traditional global search engines can provide,” Mr Alexander said.

Retailers are swiftly picking up on what the soaring use of local search means for their businesses; currently, 75% of Kiwi retailers are listed on the apnfinda database, which has nearly a quarter of a million business listings. The database is New Zealand’s most comprehensive.

With the future of the web being driven by local search and the need to directly connect users with businesses, Mr Alexander said apnfinda would continue to evolve its sites to meet retailer demand, and remained attuned to the value of local search for SMEs in particular. “There is no room anymore for the traditional model of online directory. The needs of retailers and businesspeople are constantly changing as they respond to market forces, and we’re prepared to change with them.”

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About apnfinda

apnfinda Ltd, a joint venture with APN Online established in February 2007, owns the business directory, mapping and data services sites www.finda.co.nz, www.wises.co.nz, www.UBD.co.nz, and www.apndata.co.nz. The sites have an online audience of more than 500,000 unique visitors per month. apnfinda’s business database is the most comprehensive in New Zealand, with 220,000 listings.

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