Couponing 101: Types of Coupons
Savvy consumers know the benefits of saving money whenever possible. Anyone who has been i
mpacted by the slumping economy the past couple years can tell you the importantance of saving money whenever possible. As a result couponing is becoming a more popular practice and sites like Coupon Buggy have been built to help consumers work together to save money.
In basic maketing a coupon could be described as a ticket that can be used for a cost discount or reimbursement whenever making purchases for a specific item or at a certain store. Here is a quick fact for you: pro couponers save an average of 70%-80% on their entire grocery bills. This cost savings can be huge especially if you have a large family to feed and could potentially save you hundreds of dollars per transaction.
Typically these types of coupons come from a manufacturer or retailer that provides consumer packaged goods. Many retailers and manufacturers are actually using these coupons to mine customer data and it helps them determine how sensitive consumers are about certain product costs and buyer groups. In addition, a store will also use coupons as a method to promote sales and increase the traffic to their stores.
Usually these types of coupons are found in the mail, on the internet, and in local newspapers or magazines. Depending on the type of consumer you are, you may have a preference for free shipping, giveaways, or other types of coupons as opposed to brick and mortar store savings.
Here are the types of coupons you might usually find in the hands of a typical couponer:
Coupons for Groceries
Grocery coupons are quite useful in that they can often be used at different stores and on different brands as opposed to a single outlet. Similar to other coupons, these coupons target a specific consumer group and are mostly for those who wish to save money on their grocery purchases. These kinds of coupons may also persuade a consumer to try a product they may not normally buy otherwise. Keep an eye on your Sunday paper, home mailings, or printable coupon sites on the internet for a source for grocery coupons.
Coupons on the Internet
These types of coupons are chiefly used by eCommerce websites and online retailers. They can be described as promo codes, discount codes, reward codes, surplus codes, voucher codes, and often times simply, “coupon code”. Instead of having a physical ticket, these types of codes usually come in the form of a single word phrase that can be applied to your virtual “shopping cart” at the time of checkout. People use these codes for everything from saving on clothing purchases from online stores like Kohls or JC Penney, shoes from stores like Zappos and EastBay, and even pizza purchases from restaurants like Pizza Hut and Dominos.
Internet coupon does are likely the easiest types of coupons to use as they can be found via Google quite easily and doesn’t require the same sort of effort to print and validate like their paper coupon counterparts.
Mobile Coupons
With smartphones going mainstream with internet access virtually everywhere, mobile coupons have started to become more and more popular. A mobile coupon is essentially an eTicket (or electronic ticket) that is delivered directly to your phone and like other coupons can be used to reduce the cost of transactions with specific retailers on specific services and products.
For a quick tech lesson, these coupons will often come to your mobile device via WAP Push, MMS, or SMS (text messaging, picture messaging, ect). Some can be used in stores while others may only be available for online shopping. Sometimes the coupon is actually sent by a retailer to clearinghouses for final processing.
Pro couponers are great at what they do. Many times they will even get their spouses, kids, and other family involved in tracking down usable coupons for their upcoming purchases. One other thing to keep in mind before you start buying up shelves of products is to make sure you have some additional space in your home to stockpile your upcoming ultra cheap purchases!