This is a sponsored guest post.
In today’s day and age, the word coupon defines a broad range of items. There are printed coupons you get to cut out from magazines or receive in the mail, and there are online coupons that can vary from promotional codes to discounts applied during checkout.
Regardless, their job is to lure customers in the store or on the site, with the promise of a good deal. But are coupons really that good of a deal?
I took a closer look at our shopping habits, as a family, and found eight reasons to forget about using coupons.
#1: Printed Coupons Are Difficult to Manage
If you ever tried to use cut out coupons at the cash registry, then you know they can be weird to manage. You need a stack of papers and each product comes with its own tiny piece, so it can take a while to sort things out.
#2: There Is Stigma Associated to Coupon Use
There’s no way around this: people will judge you for using printed coupons! But, according to recent research, the negative stigma of coupon redemption extends to the ones in close proximity to you.
The good news is that this is only valid for printed coupons. Online codes and any other online discounts are quite welcomed by most shoppers.
#3: You don’t Save as Much as You Think
Both printed and online coupons give you the impression of a good deal. However, when you run the numbers and factor in the time you spent finding and organizing them, the result may not be as positive as you think.
This is especially true for young parents who can’t find enough time to sleep, so there’s no way they will have the time and energy to dig for coupons!
#4: Online coupons can be Difficult to Find
Unless you’re shopping on a very specific site, where you know exactly the types of coupons you can get (such as nolahmattresscoupons.com/), online coupons can be difficult to find. There are so many discounts and offers out there, that it’s easy to get lost while searching for something in particular.
#5: Not Available when you Need Them
Besides being difficult to dig out, most online coupons are not available when you need them. Let’s say you are looking for products to childproof the house. Sadly, these types of products don’t have that many discount codes or coupons available online so you may have to wait for the proper time.
Meanwhile, you will leave in fear that your little one may get hurt because you didn’t get the necessary products to minimize accidents. And this works for many other products, where you don’t have the luxury of waiting for discounts to become available.
#6: Spam Emails
Coupons are also a way for retailers to gain access to your email address or phone number. And while it may not look like such a big deal, the promotional emails will get annoying in time. Sure, you can block them or ask to be removed from the list, but not all retailers follow the rules. Also, you may start getting spam text messages which are very irritating. You can check from whom the spam text is on Short Codes. For example you can search 22395 shortcode if you get a text from 22395.
#7: You Don’t Want to Follow Influencers
One sure way to get notified about discounts on cool products is to follow influencers on Instagram, YouTube, or Facebook. Influencers with large followings tend to have lots of collaborations with big brands, which puts you in direct contact with their campaigns.
However, in order to get the details, you must be subscribed to several accounts, which may not be exactly what you want.
#8: They are a Marketing Scheme
If none of the reasons above deter you from using coupons, maybe the fact that companies use them as a marketing strategy may get you wondering. Furthermore, many retailers practice a technique where they increase the prices for products that are about to be discounted. This way, they get the customers and make the same profit per product!
