Coupons are like the ‘Cherry on top’. They make everything more enjoyable and beneficial. It originally came about in the year 1887, as a marketing scheme for the giant soda company, Coca-Cola. Now it has become prolific as it is available almost everywhere. In the earlier days, grocery stores were the only platform that gives coupons to customers, but now it is offered in countless apps and all over social media as well. The main idea of coming up with the idea of coupons was to encourage the public to spend more money on their products or brands.
Utpal Dholakia, who is a marketing professor at Rice University stated that a coupon is a classic price promotion and went on to give the case of a peanut butter manufacturer to help us further understand the statement. Normally, there are two types of consumers. One, who would purchase the thicker version from their favorite store despite the higher in price, and then, there are loyal consumers who will get the cheaper brand or the one which is on sale. This is when coupons are offered. The manufacturer issues a coupon and drops the value of the products at an appealing price, thus, attracting more shoppers. While coupons can help you save lots, you should also be careful not to fall victim to the retailer tactics. Here are the few ways to apply coupons to your advantage and avoid falling into the pit of the scammers:
Implement them into your lifestyle
You do not necessarily need to buy things in bulk to see the difference in savings. Instead, it is suggestive to use the coupons in your daily lifestyle even when you buy your daily needs in small numbers. There are certain things that you have control over in your monthly budget, which means, whether you can save it or not, is your responsibility. There are things where you do not have control of- like your house rent or your kids’ tuition fee or child care, but you have limitations on things like groceries, personal care items, entertainment, and travel.
Look for coupons everywhere
Always look for coupons and find the chance to collect them. You can find it by typing the retailer’s name plus the word ‘coupon’ on Google search, one like cleartrip coupons. They will show a list of websites that are dedicated to aggregating deals from all over the internet. There are also several apps that provide notifications of nearby offers along with big sale events.
Stay loyal and get rewarded
Loyalty rewards are another means to your personal advantage. At times, companies send you their products for free just for telling them how much you love their products. For instance, many beauty bloggers nowadays share their product reviews on social media platforms like Youtube and Instagram and tag the particular company or brand. Most of the time, they respond back by sending their products or coupons to them.
Come up with a plan
Another way to save up is to stack discounts. This can be achieved if you sign up for a store’s free loyalty program or gift wallets on signing up. You can also opt using e-payments or e-wallets as many stores offer cash back on your purchases. Also, if a store has loyalty points, you can collect the points on every purchase and apply it whenever you please, thus, saving few bucks. To achieve loyalty points and discounts, it will cost you a lot of your patience but it is definitely worth in the end when you shop at the same store regularly.
A humble start
As mentioned in the last point, you need a lot of patience and perseverance to earn your loyal points. Many customers give up even before starting. Start humble, and as you keep shopping, the points will add up and it will be worth it! Learn to use coupons during sales to earn the extra few discounts.
