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Digital coupons are discount codes for products or services that are streamed or stored online. They can be printed or downloaded to a device for scanning, and some merchants offer digital coupon programs linked to loyalty cards. They are cost-effective for producers and can be disseminated through social networks and mobile platforms.
A digital coupon is a discount code for a product or service that is streamed or stored online. The concept behind a digital coupon is the same as a traditional paper coupon: namely, to offer the holder a discount on a specific purchase. What sets a digital coupon apart is how it is collected and used.
The most common digital coupons look just like their paper cousins, but instead of making it to print, they’re posted online or attached to an email message. Recipients usually have to print them themselves. This type of digital broadcasting is often very cost effective for producers. It is usually much more expensive to rent newspaper advertising space or pay to include coupons in direct mailings than to simply post a coupon online. Consumers can browse all available coupons, then print only the ones they intend to use.
Online coupons generally work best among demographics who are particularly web savvy. Marketers usually try to reach consumers where they are. If this is in a print newspaper, printed coupons are often best. When consumers read their news online, however, or visit retailer websites for information, it’s typically more effective to plant discounts in these spaces.
Some marketers have gone a step further by issuing coupons through social networks and mobile platforms. This type of electronic coupon is often offered in exchange for a specific action: posting a link to the retailer on a personal blog, sending a message about the offer to network contacts, or adding the retailer as a “friend” on a social network, to name a few. In this way, retailers and marketers are able to conduct demographic research and disseminate their brand and products without excessive cost or external effort.
Especially with smartphones and personal digital assistants, some digital coupons don’t actually have to be printed. Users can often download a coupon to their device for direct scanning. This means the cashier will swipe their entire phone or PDA over the coupon scanner and the discount will be transferred. Scanning a digital coupon from an electronic device is lauded by many as being environmentally friendly while promoting efficiency. Customers don’t have to remember the coupons, they just pull them up on their devices.
A different type of digital coupon does not require any direct processing. Some merchants offer digital coupon programs that allow shoppers to save coupons to online accounts, typically linked to a store loyalty or frequent customer card. Customers can go through all the coupons available on the store’s main website and then click to save on the ones they find interesting.
Depending on the store’s digital coupon policy, discounts are available as soon as the electronic coupons are selected. When the customer later enters the store and completes a purchase, they just need to allow the cashier to scan their loyalty card to automatically apply the discounts. This type of digital coupon processing is done entirely electronically, with a computer evaluating whether any of the items you purchase match coupons previously saved to your account. Saved coupons are typically kept in consumer accounts until they are used or expire.
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