Analyst firm Juniper Research estimates that just under $7 billion of mobile coupon discounts will redeemed by 2011. Instead of clipping out a coupon from a magazine, consumers can sign up for a coupon on their mobile and then show the coupon on the screen of their phone at the shop for a discount.

The 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.

Mobile coupons are attractive because they can save money on marketing campaigns, as well as offering one-to-one marketing opportunities. Unlike a paper coupon, mobile coupons offer the issuer a direct connection with the consumer using the coupon.

However, there a hesitancy from some retailers to adopt mobile coupons. 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. The use of mobile barcode technology will be gradually complimented by the emergence of NFC (Near Field Communication), the study says. 

Image: A mobile coupon from Cellfire [Cellfire]