There are plenty of coupon sites out there, browser extensions, cash back offers, promotions, discounts and sales – so why would any online shopper willingly pay full price?
A new survey finds that the vast majority of online shoppers are more interested than ever in coupons and cash back, but half of them are still doing without. So the solution just might be to make them easier to discover and redeem.
That’s according to the rewards and cash-back service provider Wildfire Systems and its newest annual consumer shopping report, “Banking on Shopping Rewards: The Value-Added Services Today’s Consumers Prefer.”
“The #1 thing today’s consumers care about is saving money,” the report states. “Even though 77% of consumers think their lives are the same or better now than three to four months ago and even amid easing inflation, the act of saving has become an ingrained consumer behavior.” This is “unsurprising,” Wildfire notes, since last year’s annual survey found that 87% of shoppers who have adopted money-saving behaviors expected their new habits to stick.
But wanting to save money, and actually saving money, are two different things. About three-quarters of survey respondents said they are making an extra effort to buy items with promotional discounts and sales, and are more interested than ever in using online coupons and earning cash back rewards. But 48% said they still pay full price for many or all items when shopping online.
That tracks with the results of another recent survey that Wildfire cites, which found that 45% of shoppers have used a discount code or coupon while online shopping in the last six months. In other words, then, if roughly half of shoppers are using coupons, the other half could be paying too much.
What Wildfire found was that shoppers want finding and using coupons to be much easier. When asked how they’d like to find online coupons and cash back rewards, 54% said they’d like offers from their credit or debit card. 40% want them from retailers, 33% from their bank and only 18% from a search engine. So it would seem that shoppers would much rather have deals presented to them than having to go look for them.
And they’d like their deals to be simple, in the form of coupons or cash back. While many banks and credit cards offer “card-linked offers” that can be activated online before making a purchase, only 59% consider them useful, compared to three-quarters who prefer coupons and cash back.
Another popular way to discover discounts is through browser extensions. 27% say they’re using browser extensions more than ever, relying on them to automatically apply the best available coupon and cash back offers. Of those who use browser extensions, 93% say they’re more likely to purchase if they’re getting a deal.
Overall, Wildfire found that coupons and cash back are the most popular money-saving tactics, ahead of shopping during sales, shopping at discount retailers and buying generic products.
Now shoppers who say they like coupons just need to find them. “Even in uncertain economic times, customers expect money-saving features such as shopping rewards and coupons to help them save,” the report concludes. And the credit cards, banks, browser extensions and other services that make them easier to discover and redeem could earn these shoppers’ loyalty – and their business.
Image source: Wutthichai Charoenburi 
the problem is, like it has been for the last 10 or 15 years, coupons are rarely for food items. if they are, it’s a ridiculous one for .10 cents off 2 cans of sardines, or corn, or cake frosting. then they put ridiculous stipulations on them like “limit 2 coupons per day”. that doesn’t even cover the sales tax for the items.
not to mention, alot of items are priced higher for online grocery shopping. the worst for that is walmart.