A May 2020 U.S. shopper survey revealed that household items, restaurants & delivery, and grocery delivery were the most searched for coupon categories. Digital shopping has taken off during the global coronavirus pandemic as people attempt to avoid stores in order to social distance or quarantine. Discounts during online shopping have become even more important during COVID-19 as job losses and product shortages impact day to day life.

The respondents’ viewpoints about Impact of COVID-19 on SMEs.

In response to the latest coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong, the local government had announced the second round of shopping coupons to be given to residents who have signed up for the consumer voucher scheme. However, according to a survey from the Democratic Party in Hong Kong in March 2022, about 80 percent of respondents stated that they would prefer direct cash payments instead of digital payments via Octopus card, Alipay Hong Kong, or Tencent Hong Kong. The scheme had received some criticisms, such as neglecting the difficulites of online shopping among the elderly.

IntroductionAlthough vaccination is the most effective way to limit and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, a considerable fraction of them are not intended to get vaccinated. This study aims to investigate the existing research evidence and evaluate the effectiveness and consequences of all incentives provided for increasing the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.MethodsA systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), and SCOPUS from 2020 until October 10, 2021, was conducted on experimental studies evaluating the effects of incentives including cash, lottery voucher, and persuasive messages on COVID-19 vaccination intention and uptake. The study selection process, data extraction, and quality assessment were conducted independently by two investigators using Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT 2010) checklist.ResultsTwenty-four records were included in the qualitative analysis. Most of the included studies assessed the effect of financial incentives. In 14 studies (58%) the assessed outcome was vaccination uptake and in nine (37.5%) others it was vaccination intention. One study considered self-reported vaccination status as the outcome. This study shows that high financial incentives and the Vax-a-million lottery are attributed to a higher vaccination rate, while the low amount of financial incentives, other lotteries, and persuasive messages have small or non-significant effects.ConclusionPaying a considerable amount of cash and Vax-a-million lottery are attributed to a higher vaccination. Nevertheless, there is a controversy over the effect of other incentives including other lotteries, low amount of cash, and messages on vaccination. It is noteworthy that, inconsistency and imprecision of included studies should be considered.

This research project mapped and monitored responses to household food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments, local authorities, charities and local communities worked to ensure access to food for those facing new risks of food insecurity due to being unable to go out for food or due to income losses arising from the crisis. New schemes were developed, such as governments replacing incomes of people at risk of unemployment on account of lockdowns, providing food parcels for people asked to shield, referrals for people to receive voluntary help with grocery shopping, and free school meals replacement vouchers or cash transfers. These worked alongside existing provision for those unable to afford food – such as food banks – which have been adapting their services to continue to meet increasing demand from a range of population groups. This resulted in a complex set of support structures which developed and changed as the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impacts, evolved. About the project The project was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the UKRI Ideas to Address COVID-19 grant call and ran for two years from July 2020. The research aimed to provide collaborative monitoring and analysis of food support systems to inform food access policy and practice. The research team was led by the University of Sheffield and King’s College London alongside colleagues from Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming and Church Action on Poverty. Full details of the team are below. Collaboration with partners and stakeholders was at the heart of the project. The research team worked with stakeholders from national and local government, the civil service, third sector, NGOs as well as people who were accessing food and financial assistance during the pandemic. The End of project summary of key findings were published in August 2022. Details of the workpackages and research reports can be found below. Project work packages Work package 1: National level food access systems mapping and monitoring Looking at food access support across the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, national level mapping and monitoring was undertaken in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales as well as at a UK level. National level stakeholders (for example from devolved governments and national voluntary organisations) from across the four nations worked with us to understand and monitor how support for food access has operated and evolved across the UK. Work package 1 publications: Mapping responses to the risk of rising food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis across the UK (published August 2020) Monitoring responses to the risk of rising food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis across the UK (published December 2020) Mapping and monitoring responses to the risk of rising food insecurity during the COVID-19 crisis across the UK - Autumn 2020 to Summer 2021 (published August 2022) Work package 2: Participatory Policy Panel To fully understand food access responses, it was crucial to hear directly from those with lived experience of food insecurity during the pandemic. In partnership with Church Action on Poverty, we convened a participatory policy panel made up of people who have direct experience of a broad range of support to access food. Meeting regularly throughout the project (Oct 2020-Dec 2021), the panel used a range of participatory and creative methods to share and reflect on their experiences and contribute these to policy recommendations. Work package 2 publications: Navigating Storms (published October 2021) Food Experiences During COVID-19 Participatory Panel Deliberative Policy Engagement (published August 2022) Food Experiences During COVID-19 - Participatory Methods in Practice: Key Learning (published August 2022) Work package 3: Local area case studies Fourteen local areas across the UK were the focus for more in depth case study research. Working with local stakeholders in each area, the research mapped what local responses looked like and how they operated. The research followed the developments in these areas throughout the duration of the project. Work package 3 publications: Comparing local responses to household food insecurity during COVID-19 across the UK (March – August 2020) – Executive Summary (published July 2021) Comparing local responses to household food insecurity during COVID-19 across the UK (March – August 2020) (published July 2021). Eight local case study reports covering responses in those areas between March and August 2020: Argyll and Bute, Belfast, Cardiff, Derry and Strabane, Herefordshire, Moray, Swansea, West Berkshire (published July 2021). Local Area Case Studies – Methodological Appendix (published July 2021) Local responses to household food insecurity during COVID-19 across the UK (March – August 2020): Full report (published July 2021) Local responses to household food insecurity across the UK during COVID-19 (September 2020 – September 2021) (published February 2022) Local responses to household food insecurity across the UK during COVID-19 (September 2020 – September 2021) - Executive Summary (published February 2022) The project was undertaken with ethical approval from the University of Sheffield.

During a March 2020 survey of consumers in the United States, 41.7 percent of respondents stated that if confined to their homes during the coronavirus, they were likely to purchase restaurant food delivery online. The food and hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic as bars and restaurants are forced to shutdown due to health and safety concerns. Many smaller establishments have pivoted to local food delivery services and there have been online initiatives to support local restaurants by buying vouchers or ordering food online.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

IntroductionAlthough vaccination is the most effective way to limit and overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, a considerable fraction of them are not intended to get vaccinated. This study aims to investigate the existing research evidence and evaluate the effectiveness and consequences of all incentives provided for increasing the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination.MethodsA systematic search in PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), and SCOPUS from 2020 until October 10, 2021, was conducted on experimental studies evaluating the effects of incentives including cash, lottery voucher, and persuasive messages on COVID-19 vaccination intention and uptake. The study selection process, data extraction, and quality assessment were conducted independently by two investigators using Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT 2010) checklist.ResultsTwenty-four records were included in the qualitative analysis. Most of the included studies assessed the effect of financial incentives. In 14 studies (58%) the assessed outcome was vaccination uptake and in nine (37.5%) others it was vaccination intention. One study considered self-reported vaccination status as the outcome. This study shows that high financial incentives and the Vax-a-million lottery are attributed to a higher vaccination rate, while the low amount of financial incentives, other lotteries, and persuasive messages have small or non-significant effects.ConclusionPaying a considerable amount of cash and Vax-a-million lottery are attributed to a higher vaccination. Nevertheless, there is a controversy over the effect of other incentives including other lotteries, low amount of cash, and messages on vaccination. It is noteworthy that, inconsistency and imprecision of included studies should be considered.

60 percent of German Christmas shoppers agreed they would be giving fewer vouchers or tickets for cultural events as a gift in 2020, as the future seemed too uncertain, namely whether the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions would be lifted enough to allow large-scale events again. 32 disagreed with this statement. The figures are based on a survey conducted in Germany in autumn 2020.

The Meal Voucher Market size was valued at USD 65.57 USD Billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 101.89 USD Billion by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.5 % during the forecast period. Meal vouchers are a form of prepaid ticket or card that can be used to buy food or beverages. Funded by employers as part of staff benefits, these vouchers are specifically to promote nutritional intake during working hours. Meal vouchers are passed as paper tickets, digital codes, or reloadable cards. Other specifics include user-friendliness, required periods of validity, and acceptability by a large number of restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores. Vouchers are commonly applied in organizations as part of facilitating employee access to meals, without requiring out-of-pocket payments. They are particularly common in areas where employers are tax-exempt to provide them. The main advantages are a greater level of job satisfaction; improved performance because of healthier food; and tax benefits for the employers. Meal vouchers are a good incentive because they allow people to have their meals at stipulated times without having to cut their work schedule to go and have their meals. Recent developments include: July 2023: Alelo established a partnership with WeWork to expand its business of Alelo Workpass office vouchers among the latter’s employer network in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, and Chile., May 2023: Up Luxembourg, a business intelligence start-up, announced its plan to launch digital meal voucher services as a part of its employee benefit solutions in Luxembourg., January 2022: Sodexo Group acquired Frontline Food Services, an American provider of break-time food service refreshments, and VendEdge, a vending services provider, to expand its digital food service capabilities in North America., October 2021: Swile raised funds worth USD 183.53 million (EUR 173 million) in a Series D round of investment led by SoftBank Group to improve its business presence in France, Brazil, and Latin America., May 2021: Sodexo launched the ‘Lunch Pass card,’ a meal card in the Luxembourg market. The card is beneficial to anyone, including the office, restaurant, or home employees. The product is equipped with special features, including take-away and home delivery solutions. The new pass card was an electronic voucher that helped individuals comply with social distancing norms during the COVID-19 pandemic.. Key drivers for this market are: Growing Demand for Bath Towels from End-use Industries to Propel the Market Growth. Potential restraints include: Rising Incidence of Data Theft While Using Digital Vouchers to Impact Market Progres. Notable trends are: Blend of Style, Sustainability, and Functionality are Trending Aspect .

Path coefficients and their significance values.

Poverty entails more than a scarcity of material resources—it also involves a shortage of time. To examine the causal benefits of reducing time poverty, we conducted a longitudinal field experiment over six consecutive weeks in an urban slum in Kenya with a sample of working mothers, a population who is especially likely to experience severe time poverty. Participants received vouchers for services designed to reduce their burden of unpaid labor. We compared the effect of these vouchers against equivalently valued unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) and a neutral control condition. Participants completed a detailed survey. As part of this survey, they provided contact information and then they completed a series of subjective well-being measures from prior research. Specifically, participants answered questions about their overall subjective well-being and their positive and negative emotions. Participants then completed demographic items including their gender, age, marital status, whether they were currently living with their partner, or were the head of the household. They also reported on the highest level of formal education they had completed, the number of children they had living at home, their current childcare status, and they answered a series of income questions including how many people they financially supported, how many people relied on their income. Third, they answered a series of employment questions including whether they currently worked for pay, how many jobs they worked, what kinds of jobs they worked in, how much money they earned per month, how their earnings and employment status had changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether they were currently looking for new employment opportunities and why. Fourth, respondents answered questions about the earnings of their household members and the amount of savings and debt that they had, and how these estimates had changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants also reported how many hours they spent on unpaid labor in the past 7 days, and whether they had experienced any of the negative impacts of COVID-19 for their own health and their concerns with COVID-19 exposure. Participants also reported how valuable they felt their time was on a series of different measures. Lastly, participants reported how much money they expected to earn in the next six months as well as their predictions for their expenses over the next 6 months.

Consumers in the United Kingdom have shown strong support to their local pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The most common way to show support among consumers was to order takeaway food and drinks from their favorite places, which was done by 36 percent of survey respondents in April 2020. A large share of respondents chose to purchase vouchers or bar tabs, and donate. A small proportion of respondents had also taken advantage of outlets that had turned their operations to convenience stores, where customers could shop for food and drink items to use at home.

IntroductionThe Go To Travel campaign in Japan was launched to subsidize travel and accommodation costs for tourists through vouchers that could be used at domestic destinations. Infection prevention behavior can lead to refraining from travel owing to infection concerns; conversely, taking preventive action can promote travel. There is a lack of information about the association between infection prevention behaviors and desire to travel. During a pandemic of infection, there is the difficult challenge of balancing the promotion of infection prevention behavior with economic revitalization. Thus, we examined the relationship between personal infection prevention behaviors and using Go To Travel.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study of 26,637 workers who responded to a large-scale questionnaire survey about COVID-19 in Japan. We built multilevel logistic regression models adjusted for confounders to assess the association between each personal infection prevention behavior and using Go To Travel. We analyzed the seven infection prevention behavior individually: wearing a mask when among other people; disinfecting hands with alcohol before going indoors; washing hands after using the toilet; gargling upon returning home; opening a window to ventilate a room; carrying an alcohol sanitizer; and disinfecting hands after touching objects outside.ResultsAmong the 26,637 participants, 7,959 (30%) used Go To Travel. For “wearing a mask in the presence of others” and “washing hands after using the toilet,” the majority of respondents answered “almost always: 86.5 and 85.6% respectively. Action “carrying alcohol disinfectant” was the least implemented, with 36.9% of respondents saying “almost never.” Two of the seven preventive behaviors (“disinfecting hands with alcohol before going indoors” and “carrying alcohol disinfectant”) were positively related to using Go To Travel, that is, the more of these actions they took, the more they used Go To Travel (p for trend

Amid 2020's coronavirus pandemic, an increased number of consumers in the United States have been using websites for coupons: roughly 60 percent of U.S. shoppers used store websites to look for vouchers. This percentage was nearly ten percent lower in 2019. Other places people frequently looked for coupons included search engines, coupon websites, and social networking websites.

Due to the outbreak of coronavirus in Poland in March 2020, hotels must fight for survival. More than 80 percent of hotels plan to obtain funding to support their employees. At the same time, more than half of them have applied for tax deferrals. Over 70 percent of hotels issued vouchers to avoid reimbursement of advance payments. Nevertheless, as much as nearly 80 percent of hotels had to be closed down during the epidemic. Eighty-six percent had to cancel their bookings and return the advance payment, as well as send staff members on overdue and current holidays.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

During the coronavirus outbreak and accompanying lockdown, e-commerce increased in popularity in Italy as in the rest of the world. This brought unprecedented challenges for e-commerce companies. Among the most common measures implemented by Italian e-commerce companies, offering free delivery and sending out discount vouchers were among the most popular, according to a survey conducted by Casaleggio Associati. On the other hand, a minority of firms had to limit orders or cancel deliveries due to high demand and concerns for their employees.

Most refugees live in environments where they have access to markets and services in the same way that local communities do. Providing refugees with cash enables them to fulfil their needs in a dignified manner and contributes to the local economy. UNHCR uses cash-based interventions (CBI) to provide protection, assistance, and services to the most vulnerable. Cash and vouchers help the displaced meet a variety of needs, including access to food, water, healthcare, shelter, that allow them to build and support livelihoods, and to facilitate voluntary repatriation.

Refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and other vulnerable populations receive cash assistance through collaborative cash systems in which UNHCR works in close partnership with governments, the private sector, UN agencies, community-based and local partners and development actors.

UNHCR started a corporate Post-Distribution Monitoring (PDM) process to review the use and effectiveness of cash assistance provided by UNHCR and its partners. PDM semi-standardized questionnaires assess the adequacy of cash programmes, and results inform programme changes at the country level in order to improve CBI design and delivery. This survey regards a distribution of grants given to support the Covid-19 response.

A May 2020 survey found that 89 percent of Millennial shoppers in the United States would try a new brand if they were offered a coupon or discount. This makes Millennials the most likely to do so, ahead of Generation X respondents with 86 percent.

In 2020, Polish employers will most often convince their employees of the Christmas benefits in financial bonuses and vouchers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization of Christmas meetings for all employees was much less popular. Also, compared to previous years, the percentage of employers who do not plan any special activities regarding Christmas gifts has increased.

After an increase in the number of downloads of the Groupon app from December 2019 to February 2020, both Google Play Store and iPhone App Store downloads of the application plummeted. In May 2024, the deals and discounts site's app was downloaded approximately 317,000 times on the iPhone App Store and 123,000 times on the Google Play Store. The star child of discounts Groupon was launched in 2008 in the United States, as a deal-of-the-day platform, where subscribers can purchase vouchers and coupons for a wide range of services and products, from a romantic dinner to a manicure or a cruise vacation. After signing up, users receive daily or weekly notifications with special offers, customized according to their preferences, location, and transaction history. Lean times for Groupon In the early 2010s, the website quickly expanded into international markets, acquiring several similar local services, such as MyCityDeal in Europe, ClanDescuento in South America, or Qpod.jp in Asia. However, since the departure of its founder Andrew Mason in 2013, Groupon has experienced volatile times. In addition to seeing its number of active customers drop by nearly half since 2018, the coronavirus pandemic has dealt the U.S. company another severe blow. In 2020, the company suffered a net loss of over 286 million U.S. dollars. Even after the pandemic, Groupon's financials remained strained, leading to a net loss of 234 million dollars in 2022.