Coupon Challenges

Coupon Challenges

As we all know, there are tons of mediums through which to get coupons these days. Here are just some of them:

• Newspaper inserts
• Direct mail
• Email
• Manufacturer in-store
• Retailer in-store
• Online
• Apps
• Valassis (the things that print when you check out at the grocery store)
• Receipts

With so many different ways to find coupons, figuring out how to find, manage, and use them all is a full-time job in itself. The coordination needed to track all the different type, products, valid dates, redemption values, exclusions, and all that jazz is a ton of work! Its all about the cost/reward balance. The time and energy it takes to do all that is often not worth the actual savings. In this post I'm going to discuss some of the different challenges that arise in the current coupon environment.

Key challenges

• Steps in Redemption

By far the biggest obstacle in using a coupon is the shear volume of actions that go into using one. Lets break down the whole process of using a newspaper coupon, from start to finish.

1. buy a newspaper
2. flip through the adds to find the coupon you want
3. cut it out
4. go to the store
5. select your item
6. check coupon validity
7. go to checkout lane
8. give coupon to cashier
9. pay 
10. go home

That may sound silly, but to use a newspaper coupon, those are all absolutely necessary steps. The fastest way to more savings is by cutting down those steps to as few as possible.

• Coordination of Different Mediums

As mentioned at the beginning, there are tons of different mediums through which to get coupons. It may seem simple, but the logistics of using coupons when they are all over is quite complex. Think about  getting a mobile, email, and in-store coupons that you plan to use on one trip. First, you need to print the email coupon and remember to take it. Next, you need to make sure your phone is charged and with you on the way to the store. Finally, once you get your in-store coupon, you need to take a minute to read all the exclusions and make sure they are all going to work. The chances of all these steps working flawlessly and you saving as much as possible is not very good.

• Exclusions

Exclusions are something I have dealt with extensively in my professional experience. Exclusions are often one of the biggest reasons people get frustrated with coupons. So often people take all the right steps to get the coupons, check dates, and all that fun stuff just to find out at the register that the one thing they wanted is excluded in size .005 font way at the bottom. Unbearably frustrating. 

The reason exclusions are put on coupons, especially at retailers, is the many of the brands that store carries have specifically stated that they DO NOT want customers to ever receive a discount on their product. I find it a little pretentious, but that's just me. Most of the time, the discount doesn't even affect how much the brand gets paid and the discount only affects the retailer (who gave you the coupon). The result is generally a coupon that goes unused and customer who has now had a bad experience.

• Purchase Stipulations

This is one of the smaller redemption challenges and some businesses are good about not using them. Purchase stipulations are when the validity of a coupon depends on purchasing multiple items. It may be more than one of a single item or a set of different items. The idea behind these is to pull you in with the promise of savings and get you to spend more total dollars. In some cases, the deals can be so good that they warrant making a big purchase, but be careful in determining if you actually want the other required products or if you need as many as you are required to buy to get the savings. Again, it's all about weighing what you give for what you get.

• Limited Validity

Limited Validity is when a coupon is only good for a specified amount of time or in a specific location. The biggest problems resulting from these is trying to use a coupon that has expired. We have all done it. Some places are good about honoring the coupon even if it is expired and others are very strict. These add to the complexity of coordination since almost none of your coupons will have consistent validity periods (number of valid days) or overlapping valid dates (calendar dates on which they are usable).

• Limited Applicability

Limited Applicability is when a coupon is only good on a very specific purchase such as purchasing a 20oz Sprite. If you try and buy a 12oz can, the coupon is no good. The idea is that they are trying to get you to purchase a specific SKU (Stock Keeping Unit). This may happen when a business is trying to promote a specific item or is trying to speed up sales of an item. Since it is possible that these may be a clearance strategy, keep in mind if that specific item in that specific size, color, flavor, etc., is something you will actually use.

Conclusion

These are a few of the different challenges you may run into while attempting to save money using coupons. The more you are able to avoid or leverage these, the more money you will save. Remember, the key to savings is reducing the friction between getting and redeeming a coupon. If you can find a way to streamline your process, you will be rewarded.