How To Hack The Coupon Marketing Process To Your Benefit

If you're a bargain hunter who signs up for coupons through email, make sure that you respond to these deals. Some stores will remove customers from their mailing lists if they do not respond to their emails. To get the most out of coupons, you will need to understand how businesses use coupons to market to you:

Businesses Categorize You

Retailers try to determine what types of customers they are working with because they do not want to provide discounts to consumers that are willing to pay the full price. As a result, retailers will determine if their customers are only purchasing products with discounts of 25% or higher.

Then, they focus primarily on sending coupons to these customers. If you frequently purchase items at a full price, you will be seen as a full-price consumer and will more likely receive catalogs full of the retailer's newest offerings.

Coupons are Often Illusions

If you really want to find bargains, make sure that you do not fall for the illusions crafted by retailers. Retail stores are adept at raising prices far above the normal retail price and then providing discounts that simply bring the product down to it's normal retail price. Most discounts are not designed to move products, but are instead designed to create an emotional response in consumers that make them feel like they have gotten a good deal.

Therefore, if you truly want to get a discount, you will need to track the price of a particular product to get a sense of what it is really worth. The best time to get an authentic discount is when businesses overstock and then have to get rid of merchandise, such as at the end of the holiday season.

Stores Maintain Discount Outlets

Try to find the outlet that is designed for budget-conscious shoppers. Many companies will build stores designed specifically for full-price consumers and will then create outlet stores filled with discounted merchandise. If you are unsure of which category the store falls under, the best solution is simply to visit and make note of the prices.

You Can Automate the Coupon Process

Given that the hunt for discounts can be time-consuming, one solution is to try to automate your discounts. Check to see if your browser has an extension that allows you to compare the prices of products side-by-side.

Look for coupon-reminding extensions that will remind you that you found an excellent coupon that you meant to use. Otherwise, you are likely to forget about your coupon. Also, setup filters for your email program so that you can only look at coupons for products that you are interested in.