It’s a statistical fact that most people like coupons. According to a market research company, 60 percent of consumers actively search for coupons and 95 percent of consumers look at coupons favourably.

Coupons work by interfering with the cost-benefit analysis consumers perform before making any purchase decision. Customers will only visit a store and buy products when the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs, including the time and money spent on making a purchase.

In this article, we’ll look at five ways coupons help boost traffic to small businesses. However, it’s important to note that central to a coupon’s effectiveness is how it lowers the cost and increases the benefits of visiting a store or buying a product.

Remember, coupons are always designed for the consumer

Recruit New Customers—Coupons offer discounts to customers. When someone comes across a coupon, the discount or offer is what attracts them. Promos such as Dominos coupons, Nykaa deals, etc are most successful when they reach people who would not otherwise visit your business or use your services.

Going back to the cost-benefit analysis, new customers will be much more likely to visit a store that lowers the cost of doing so. Businesses can’t discount every product at all times, so coupons are a great way to strategically discount.

Entice New Movers: New movers are an extremely important market segment for small businesses. Because they’re new to an area, they must form new business relationships.

It’s a winner-take-all scenario. The first business to reach out to the newcomer is most likely to gain a loyal customer.Better yet, businesses that offer a discount have an even better chance. 

Discounts and special offers are the most effective ways small businesses can channel a competitor’s traffic. Even though there are many ways to tell people about discounts, most of them are only available to larger businesses.

For example, commercials and ads on TV and in newspapers are often too expensive and time-consuming for small businesses to produce.

Coupons such as Aliexpress promo codes, free Uber coupon code, etc are clearly and easily allow small businesses to communicate competitive offers that can steer more customers to use a particular business. Small businesses also gain more control over where their discounts are distributed with coupon advertising. Hyper-local businesses must have this control. Otherwise, the discount is lost on the wrong audience.

Re-activate Former Customers: Similar to channelling competitor traffic, coupons also function to reactivate customers. Sometimes customers will stop using a business simply because they’ve forgotten about it.

Coupons work to remind these people about your products, and they also give them an extra reason to come back to your store. After reactivation, it’s fairly likely they’ll become current customers—even without a coupon. A simple reminder and offer can go a long way in customer retention for small businesses.

Sell More Expensive and Related Items: Last, but certainly not least, coupons can help your business sell more products. Many times, when a customer visits a store because of a coupon, he or she purchases more than just the product discounted on the coupon.

This is especially noticeable for restaurants and other places that serve food. For example, when a restaurant offers free or discounted entrees such as Swiggy coupons, Zomato promos, etc, in almost every case, coupon redemptions result in more purchases—wine, appetizers, and desserts—for a better dining experience.

Diners will reason that the money that would have gone toward an entr?e can now go toward extras. This can even result in greater spending with a coupon discount than without.

Couponing is an efficient and simple way to not only make your business more appealing but also attract new customers in the face of looming competition. According to experts, it may be a difficult decision for business owners, particularly small brands, because continuously providing discounted purchases will not profit them. Brands that provide coupons and offers, on the other hand, have a competitive advantage, according to these experts, because the availability of discounts is one of the main reasons that customers will shop at your store again and again.

Customers see the majority of discount coupons online via email, messages, websites, mobile apps, and other means. When customers are planning their shopping trips, digital media can assist them in deciding which brand to purchase. While coupons are the primary brand influencer, not all businesses can effectively deliver coupons, which can result in significant brand losses. Here are some of the benefits and drawbacks of couponing, as well as what you should avoid.

Nowadays, technology has the greatest impact on people's lives because it allows many things to be done, resulting in a more convenient working or social environment in a society. People can now work and shop online from the comfort of their own homes, which is much cheaper than operating in supermarkets. Coupons make online shopping more enjoyable because they offer more than just lower prices.

How It Helps?

When you shop online, you can look at each item on the website, and if you have a coupon, you can easily buy an expensive item at a slightly lower price.

Many coupons have expiration dates, but they are often long, especially around the holidays. This is good for online shoppers who can use coupon codes to buy things. Furthermore, because many people are simply too busy to go shopping and get what they want, coupon codes save time.

So, with coupon codes such as Nykaa coupons, people simply select the products they want on the website, which only takes a few minutes, and apply a discount to them; there is no need to go to a physical store and pick up your product.

Furthermore, because coupon codes can be used to order products such as food and goods from a website linked to a coupon site, they save money on the days they are made available. You can also use coupons to get free shipping on your purchases, regardless of location or product type, saving money by not having to pay for shipping.

Also, the better shopper you become, the more comfortable you are with using coupons when shopping online. You will be able to find fantastic deals by using coupon codes, allowing you to save even more money and buy a product or two with the money you have saved.

Advantages: You will be able to reduce your current product inventory

Coupons are an excellent way to attract first-time customers and are the most efficient way to clear out existing inventory and make room for new inventory. If you sell your old stock or existing stock at a discount, you can make room for new, in-demand products. If you use strong messaging and content in your discounts, if you are successful with your content, keywords, packaging, and product delivery, you will acquire and retain more loyal customers.

Attract new and returning customers

Every marketer is aware of their product line; some are profitable, while others fade away after a while. You understand which services and products are valuable and profitable to you as a marketer. Each new product line brings in a completely new demographic of customers. Coupons such as Amazon coupon code help bring in new customers and give them a sense of control by letting them buy their favourite products for less than full price instead of paying full price.

Drawbacks

There are a few problems with giving coupons to your target audience that you should know about so you can take the right steps to avoid any problems.

An increase in price

While coupons, special offers, and discounts benefit your customers, they always cost the seller and marketer money. You must strike a balance between product discounts and costs, ensuring that the coupons you provide provide an appealing discount to your target audience while also preserving your profit. Some brands loose revenue and performance as a result of offering such steep discounts.

Your loyal customers will be turned off

Most websites will show that brands will provide a discount or coupons to new customers who purchase their products. But what about existing customers? Regular customers are those who buy your products on a regular basis, and they will feel left out if you only give offers to new customers. To avoid this, you can offer a discount to both new and existing user coupons. This lets you keep your current customers and cover your audience database without offending anyone.

Last but not least,

When it comes to using coupons for your business, keep in mind that you must decide how much of a discount you will provide and how you will use this discount to satisfy both new and loyal customers. Conduct your research and create a fail-safe strategy that you can use.

More coupons equals more savings at the register. It's straightforward math, but how do you get more coupons? Continue reading to learn about several winning strategies to add to your arsenal.

Subscribe to Newsletters to Receive Coupons

Do you have a favourite product or brand? If this is the case, check the company's website to see if they offer a free email newsletter that you can subscribe to. Subscribers are frequently rewarded with exclusive discounts, promotions, and freebies.

This is not limited to major national brands. Make a list of all the local stores and restaurants where you enjoy shopping. Then, see if they have a newsletter you can subscribe to.

Purchase Extra Paper to Receive More Coupon Inserts

There is no rule stating that you can only purchase one newspaper. So, if you find a good coupon such as Walmart coupon code, Flipkart deals etc, inside, go ahead and grab an extra one (or five). If you can find a store that discounts unsold Sunday papers on Monday, you'll be able to get those extra coupons for even less money out of pocket.

Buy your papers at the Dollar Tree and you'll only pay a dollar per piece. To keep extreme couponers in check, they have a three-newspaper limit per customer.

Gather unused newspaper coupon inserts

People frequently discard unwanted portions of their newspapers in coffee shops, restaurants, bus stops, and other places where there is a waiting room. Keep your eyes peeled for the chance to take these home. If you have friends or family who work in such places, ask them to save the old Sunday papers for you.

Another option is to ask non-couponing friends and neighbours to save their coupon inserts for you. They won't mind in the least.

Apps can deliver coupons to your phone.

Download a few coupon apps such as Askmeoffers to turn your phone into a savings machine. Simply have the cashier scan your phone at checkout, and your coupons will be deducted from your total automatically. If you don't have the time or energy to clip coupons, or if you don't want to spend a lot of money on printer ink, this is a great way to save money.

Call Businesses for Coupons

Examine your favourite products and look for the toll-free number listed on the label. Then, call those businesses and ask if they have any coupons they can send you. Check out their websites while you're at it. You can sign up for a newsletter, a loyalty app, or printable coupons from them.

Purchase Electronic Coupons

Load coupons onto your grocery store rewards cards, and the savings will be deducted automatically when the cashier scans your card. Even if you want to avoid using, storing, and sorting paper coupons, this is another good way to save money.

Adding Coupons to Your Grocery Card

Most grocery store chains have digital coupons available on their websites, which you can load to your card before you go shopping. These are usually one-time-use coupons, but read the fine print. Some digital coupons have a five-use limit.

Obtain Additional Digital Coupons

New printable coupon websites are constantly appearing. If you don't look through them for grocery and household goods savings, you're throwing money away. Check to see if you're missing any opportunities to print codes such as Amazon coupons, Shoppe promos to save.

Consider Thinking Outside the Box

Coupons can be found anywhere; you just have to look for them. Have you been stuffing receipts and ticket stubs into your wallet or purse? If you turn them over, you might find coupons for the same items and entertainment you just purchased.

Coupon printing is still popular, but using your own printer means using your own supplies.

Consumers are clearly hungry for deals, and this hunger is growing as retail websites and mobile platforms improve. Should you add fields for coupon or voucher codes to your web form or eCommerce checkout, though?

The mere presence of a coupon or discount code can increase shopping cart abandonment rates (more on that later). Mention the word "discount" and you risk driving your customer (whom you worked so hard to win through a variety of marketing tactics) back down the "digital high street" to see what other deals are available.

However, because coupons can be a reliable source of revenue, it is a matter of determining the best way to employ these discount strategies without jeopardising sales.

What are the strategic benefits of websites using coupons?

Many e-commerce and online retailers run various types of promotions at strategic points throughout the year, from the run-up to Black Friday, throughout the Christmas shopping season, and beyond into the spring and summer sales seasons. This strategy has the potential to increase conversions and improve customer loyalty.

The following are the most common strategic advantages:

Increasing incremental sales

The most obvious example is According to a recent study, 83% of shoppers said that coupons changed their purchasing behaviour, indicating that discount coupons can increase revenue.

Increasing brand awareness and customer base

Discounts are appealing to more than just customers. They can also help you grow your social media followers and email subscriber lists, as well as encourage users to use your mobile platforms.

Offering a personal or timely discount at the right time can set off a chain reaction. Anyone who receives it can now easily share it with their friends by pressing a digital button. It's a low-cost way to get your brand in front of millions of people and increase awareness with little effort on your part.

Incentives improve the shopping experience

As difficult as it is to believe, receiving a coupon is physically shown to be more enjoyable than receiving a gift. Another study found that using a coupon discount versus one advertised on a store website made shoppers feel 3.1x smarter. This positive reinforcement of the customer experience is always beneficial to loyalty.

Promo codes are an efficient method of tracking and measuring your marketing efforts

By assigning a unique discount code such as free coupon code to each advertisement or platform, you will be able to determine which advertisements and platforms generate the most traffic and conversions. You'll be able to fine-tune your marketing activity over time, using only the best performers. Use Unique Single Codes to determine where your ROI performs best for best results.

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They can be an excellent way to gain trust and obtain data

It's a great way to build trust with your customer base when discounts are given logically. If you're clever, you should be able to learn a customer's likes and dislikes over the course of their relationship if they trust you. As a result, the more personalised the discounts you provide, the better.

For example, if I just bought a new sofa from PepperFry, a PepperFry coupon code that gives me a discount on a warranty that covers stain removal and upholstery repairs is likely to lead to an extra sale and a happy customer.

Shopping carts are left behind

As previously discussed, the mere presence of a "discount code" field can cause severe FOMO, causing your potential customer to exit your sales funnel and go in search of a coupon. You've just reminded them that a discount code makes the shopping experience even more exciting. Ouch. They might even steal a code from one of your affiliates, resulting in a double hit to your margins.

Furthermore, if they can't find a code, they may abandon the idea of paying full price and abandon their basket at the digital till. The problem is exacerbated by the existence of discount code websites and apps designed specifically for this purpose: Askmeoffers, CouponsABC, to name a few. It's not uncommon for the code you find to no longer work. According to Shopper.com, half of the time spent searching for codes was wasted because the customer did not find a valid one.

Negative brand association and lower perceived value

If you use promotional codes and discounts too frequently, customers will never want to pay full price again. Many people have expressed similar sentiments about Myntra in recent years. They've offered a whopping 40% discount using Myntra offers, sometimes even more, so frequently that many customers can't bear to pay full price for their products. Customers think, rightly or wrongly, that they are worth 40% less than the full-price items they advertise, which makes it hard for them to keep their high prices.

Sales that are delayed and less profitable

If you use discounts on a regular basis, you are inadvertently training your customer base to wait for your next round of deals. You understand that the goal isn't to eat away at your profit on every item you sell. It is best to reserve specific discount levels for specific times of the year (perhaps when your sales need a boost or you need to reduce stock). Alternatively, only reduce the price of items that do not sell well or quickly. Never discount items that fly off the shelf anyway. Always keep in mind that providing a discount has an impact on your margins, so be mindful of why you're doing it and what you expect to gain from it.