ValPak.com is claiming that its redesigned Web site brings consumers another click closer to coupons.
The recently launched site, www.valpak.com, was ValPak.com's first redesign effort since November 1999.
Navigation has been simplified to give consumers quicker access to local discounts.
First-time users need to enter the ZIP code for the geographical area in which they want to receive coupons. Repeat visitors are automatically sent to a page that posts offers from merchants in their area, said Todd Leiser, vice president at Cox Target Media, Largo, FL. CTM is the parent company of ValPak.com.
“Users view coupons with one click and print them out with a second,” Leiser said.
Tabs have been added to the top of the page to bring Amazon-type navigation to the site. “Getting to product categories is a lot simpler,” Leiser said.
Enhanced back-end technology provides users with faster searches and now enables keyword and subject searches.
Registration is not required, so panicky users need not worry about the transmission of any credit card or other personal information, Leiser said. E-mail addresses are not required.
“There is an optional registration and there are benefits for it, but there is no requirement,” Leiser said.
Registrants are notified by ValPak.com when new coupons become available in their area.
With 130,000 advertising clients and more than 30,000 coupons live on the site at any given time, Leiser claimed that ValPak is the largest local coupon site on the Web.
Last year, ValPak reported, 52 million coupons were viewed and 2 million were printed out on user computers.
Like the traditional ValPak, which distributes coupon-stuffed blue envelopes to millions of homes, ValPak.com's business model is based on distributing real ink-and-paper coupons for retailers trying to lure consumers into retail stores.
“There are some merchants, like GLD Pharmaceutical, that are only [distributing ValPak coupons] on the Web,” but most clients distribute offers through both channels, Leiser said.
The Web has grown in importance to ValPak, and that is why the company views the Web site relaunch as a smart investment.
“It provides so many opportunities that the blue envelope can't just by the nature of the medium. We look to the Web to expand distribution for merchants,” Leiser said. “Most people don't work where they live, and we only mail to homes.”
The Web site provides commuters with the ability to print out coupons at work.
“The Web provides a very good opportunity for ValPak,” Leiser said.
