New figures from analyst firm Juniper Research estimate that almost 3 billion mobile coupons will be issued to Mobile Users by 2011, with just under $7 billion of discounts redeemed.

The new Juniper study finds that mobile coupons are becoming an increasingly important tool for brand owners and retailers to provide a `push to purchase’ capability for mobile marketing and advertising campaigns. The key issues driving the move to mobile coupons include:

• Cost savings on campaigns
• An increase in ARPU
• One-2-one marketing opportunities
• An increase in customer retention for mobile operators - lower churn
• Higher conversion rates
• The expansion of mobile value added services
• Reduced fraud

However, Juniper identified some notable challenges for the sector, including a hesitancy from some retailers to adopt mobile coupons. In addition, some retailers would have to change from using laser scanners to optical readers that use the required CCD, technology to read barcodes, especially 2D barcodes from mobile phones.

Juniper Research defines a mobile coupon as “a coupon sent and stored on a mobile phone that can be exchanged for a rebate, a financial discount etc. at a retailer when the consumer purchases a product.” When compared to their paper cousins, mobile coupons offer a number of distinct advantages allowing the coupon issuer a direct connection between themselves and the consumer using the coupon.