LEWISVILLE, Texas, May 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to research released today, 50 percent of retailers and almost as many manufacturers (48 percent) utilize rebate programs as part of their customer loyalty and promotions mix. Half of the retailer and manufacturer respondents said the top benefit of rebates is customer retention; evidence that today's new rebate programs that have begun to incorporate features such as electronic redemption, quick payment and mobile locating, are resulting in pleased consumers and powerful ROI for businesses.

The analyst report, Rebate Optimization in Retail: Driving Customer Responsiveness, was compiled by the Aberdeen Group, the leading provider of independent, fact-based research helping organizations and individuals make better business decisions. The report draws from aggregated research of surveys, interviews and data analysis to reveal the pain points, strategies, processes and technologies that enable retailers and manufacturers to utilize rebates to drive revenue and customer loyalty.

"Our findings revealed a very persuasive business case for rebates," said Chris Cunnane, Senior Research Associate with the Aberdeen Group. "We have a deep expertise in retail and manufacturing research, and this report demonstrates the value of rebate programs for both of these groups."

"This research is powerful verification that all retailers and manufacturers should consider incorporating rebates into their marketing programs," said Juli Spottiswood, President & CEO of Parago, a leading provider of innovative reward programs that drive behavior and promote brand loyalty with consumers and channel partners. "This report definitively shows that businesses that use rebates benefit in many ways as a result: retaining customers, driving compelling marketing ROI and customer conversion and forging deeper customer engagement."

Some key findings of the report include:

• Roughly half of businesses surveyed (50 percent of retailers and 48 percent of manufacturers) utilize rebate programs.
• The top driver of rebate usage in retail is top-line revenue (64 percent), while the top driver in manufacturing is competitive advantage (61 percent).
• Customer retention is the top benefit of rebates for 50 percent of both retailer and manufacturer respondents. The second highest benefit for retailers (50 percent) is promotional and marketing spend ROI due to the shelf-level sales success of products with rebates. For manufacturers, the second highest benefit of rebates is customer conversion (46 percent).
• Both retailers (36 percent) and manufacturers (27 percent) identified building lifetime customer value (the value of future revenue from long-term customer relationships) as another top driver for the use of rebates.

The report Rebate Optimization in Retail: Driving Customer Responsiveness can be downloaded in its entirety by clicking here.

Parago, the nation's largest rebate provider, saw its retail rebating business grow 33 percent in 2010. In total, the Company delivered more than 50 million rebates last year.

About Parago

Parago is the innovative provider of rewards-based incentive solutions that deploy technology to drive better results from consumers and customers alike. Parago provides a full range of consumer incentive and rebate programs to Fortune 500 companies, including customer acquisition and retention. Parago has distinguished itself in the rewards-based incentives field for more than ten years by consistent reinvention of legacy approaches, introducing 27 industry firsts and receiving three patents. For more information visit www.parago.com, the Parago blog or Twitter.

About Aberdeen Group

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information – Opportunity – Insight – Engagement – Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

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Juli Spottiswood

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SOURCE Parago