What have been the recent trends in the use of sales promotions?

What will be an ideal response?

For a number of years, sales promotion expenditures increased as a percentage of budget expenditures. More recently, their growth has slowed, in part because consumers began to tune out promotions. Also, sales promotions can produce a high sales response in the short run, but unless brands are dissimilar, they are unlikely to alter market shares permanently. The fastest-growing area in sales promotions is digital coupons, redeemed via smart phone or downloaded to a consumer's computer.