Discount codes have become extremely popular in recent years as both online and brick-and-mortar retailers use them as a way to attract new customers and incentivize repeat business. When used strategically, discount codes can be an effective marketing tool. However, with so many discount codes floating around these days, it’s reasonable for consumers to be skeptical about how often they actually work.
What are the most common types of discount codes?
There are a few main types of discount codes that retailers offer:
- Percentage off – These codes give a percent discount off the total purchase, such as 20% off or 15% off.
- Dollar amount off – These codes take a set dollar amount off the purchase, like $10 off or $25 off.
- Free shipping – These offer free shipping on the order, which helps avoid shipping costs.
- Buy one get one free – Sometimes abbreviated as BOGO, these offer a free item when you buy another item.
- Free gift with purchase – These provide a free gift when a minimum purchase threshold is met.
Of these different types, percentage and dollar off codes tend to be the most enticing for consumers looking to save money on purchases.
Do retailers make it difficult to use discount codes?
Some skeptical consumers believe that retailers deliberately make it tricky to redeem discount codes in order to minimize the number of discounts they actually have to honor. However, in most cases, this is not an intentional strategy by retailers.
Here are some common reasons discount codes may be difficult to use:
- Expiration dates – Codes often have to be used within a certain timeframe, which passes quickly.
- Specific products – Discounts may only apply to certain products, excluding popular or full-priced items.
- Minimum spend – A minimum purchase total may be required to use the code.
- One-time use – Some codes can only be used once per customer.
- Restricted categories – The discount may not apply to certain categories like clearance or sale items.
While these conditions can certainly make codes harder to use, they exist for legitimate business reasons around profit margins, inventory management, and preventing abuse of discounts.
Do retailers deliberately create hard to use codes?
Sometimes it may seem like retailers make discount codes intentionally difficult or confusing to reduce their liability. But in most cases, it is not a deliberate strategy. Here are some reasons why discount code redemption can be tricky without negative intent from the retailer:
- Technical issues – Glitches with online discount code boxes happen, accidentally making codes not work properly.
- Employee errors – Staff may mistakenly indicate a code is valid when it is expired or not applicable.
- Third-party offers – Retailers sometimes have no control over the terms of codes offered by external marketing affiliates.
- Unclear messaging – Promotions don’t always communicate proper code use and restrictions clearly.
So while hard to use codes can certainly be frustrating, it is rarely an intentional ploy by retailers to avoid honoring them. Most want to make the process smooth to encourage positive customer experiences.
How can you improve your chances of using a discount code successfully?
Here are some tips to follow when trying to redeem a discount code to maximize your chances of success:
- Read all terms carefully – Check for expiration dates, eligible products, spend minimums, and other conditions.
- Try early in the offer window – Don’t wait until the last minute when a code may have reached its usage limit.
- Avoid out of stock items – Codes often don’t work on sold out or backordered products.
- Watch for exclusions – Many codes exclude popular or sale categories like clearance items.
- Contact customer service – Ask for assistance if a code doesn’t seem to be working correctly.
Following these tips can help overcome common obstacles standing between you and successfully using a discount code.
How often do people actually end up using discount codes?
It’s hard to say definitively how often discount codes are successfully used versus going to waste. However, some studies provide estimates:
- One survey found only 1 in 4 shoppers actually redeem coupons they have available.
- Another report stated 76% of consumers have discount codes available, but only 16% use them regularly.
- Industry experts estimate only 10-15% of discount codes distributed are ever successfully redeemed.
So while billions of discount codes are distributed annually, only a small fraction result in a discounted purchase. There are many factors causing this gap between availability and usage.
Why do many discount codes go unused?
Here are some of the top theories on why most discount codes never get redeemed:
- Consumers lose or forget about codes over time.
- Restrictions make the codes irrelevant to their needs.
- Shoppers deem the effort needed to use them not worth the payoff.
- Procrastination leads to codes expiring before being used.
- Difficult or confusing redemption processes cause abandonment.
Essentially, despite their prevalence, most discount codes ultimately go unused because consumers either cannot or will not take the steps to redeem them by the required dates. But when shoppers do take the time to use codes properly, they can yield great savings.
Can expired codes still work?
Once a discount code has passed its expiration date, can it still be used successfully? Sometimes, but you generally shouldn’t count on it.
Here are some cases where expired codes still work:
- The automated system doesn’t instantly update and may honor recently expired codes briefly.
- Third-party affiliate codes don’t sync perfectly with the retailer so seem valid when they are not.
- Online staff mistakenly tell customers an expired code is still good.
- In-store staff don’t realize a code has expired and honor it.
However, relying on these loopholes is unrealistic. So once a promotion ends, expect that its codes will no longer work, even just hours or days after expiration. Don’t waste time attempting to redeem expired codes unless you get post-expiration confirmation from the retailer that they will still work.
What’s the best way to find currently valid codes?
Here are some tips for finding valid, working discount codes to maximize savings:
- Go directly to the retailer’s website – Check their latest promotions section for current codes.
- Search on discount aggregator sites – These compile the latest codes in one spot.
- Follow retailers on social media – They’ll advertise valid codes there.
- Monitor store emails – Many send discount codes to subscriber inboxes.
- Search engine coupon sites – Comparison sites curate the best current codes.
The most foolproof way is getting codes directly from the retailer itself. But deal sites and search engines also do a decent job surfacing valid codes if you check them regularly. Don’t rely on expired blog posts and message boards since codes found there are unlikely to work anymore.
Are in-store and online codes interchangeable?
Unfortunately, most discount codes these days are either valid for in-store or online purchases, but not both. So check the fine print before heading to the cash register.
Some key things to look out for:
- Online only – Can only be redeemed at the retailer’s website.
- In-store only – Will only work for purchases made at physical locations.
- Excluded from online – Many in-store codes exclude online orders.
- Online promo code box – If a code is meant for online use, it will have an internet redemption box.
Assuming one code works universally across channels is a common mistake. Always verify the permitted usage before trying to redeem. Some retailers do offer a handful of codes good for both online and in-store, but it isn’t the norm.
Should you avoid discount codes requiring personal information?
When considering using a discount code, you may come across some that require submitting personal information like an email or mailing address before providing the actual code. This causes some consumers to wonder if these codes should be avoided.
There are a few factors to consider:
- Some personal information may be unavoidable to get custom codes, such as for free box subscriptions.
- If sold or shared, your info could go to unknown third parties unless the retailer has privacy policies against this.
- Make sure to read the details carefully before providing info like email, phone number, etc.
- Discount aggregator sites promising codes without required information are generally safer.
In general, it’s smart to provide as little personal information as possible when obtaining discount codes from unfamiliar sites. However, for well-known major retailers with transparent privacy policies, it may be an acceptable trade-off for substantial savings. As with most things, being an informed consumer by reading the fine print goes a long way in determining what’s acceptable regarding discount codes requiring personal information.
How can you stack discounts from multiple codes?
Savvy shoppers are always looking for ways to maximize savings by combining multiple discount codes from different sources. Here are some tips on stacking coupon codes:
- Make sure codes don’t have conflicting terms that would make them mutually exclusive.
- Check if the retailer allows using multiple discount codes on one order.
- Use percentage off codes first, then dollar off codes for maximum impact.
- Apply generic site-wide codes before specific category or product codes.
- Use browser extensions that auto-try combining multiple codes on online orders.
However, there are also some common reasons preventing code stacking:
- Retailers intentionally program systems to allow only one code per order.
- Generic sitewide discounts don’t stack with category or product specific codes.
- The savings get so substantial, it exceeds profit margins on the purchase.
Even if you can’t use multiple codes in one order, you may be able to place separate orders with different codes applied to each individually. So code stacking takes some effort, but can yield great savings when successful.
Should you avoid codes requiring surveys?
Some discount codes are gated behind completing a survey instead of being immediately usable. This causes some people to hesitate, wondering if it’s worth the time and sharing personal information. Here are a few pros and cons to consider:
Potential pros:
- Surveys are a quick, low-effort way to access codes.
- The incentive motivates people to provide valuable consumer feedback to brands.
- Demographic info shared in surveys can enable personalized deals.
Potential cons:
- Survey quality is poor if people click randomly just to access deals.
- Relevant personal info beyond demographics could be collected.
- Time spent can exceed the value of the deals themselves.
In general, taking a short demographic survey to unlock discount codes you specifically need can be worth it. But extensive market research surveys in exchange for random codes are lower value. As always, pay close attention to guard your personal information.
Conclusion
Discount codes and coupons provide great opportunities to save on purchases when used strategically. But their restrictive terms and conditions, short validity periods, and other limiting factors mean many codes go unused and never provide the savings promised. Being an informed consumer by carefully reading requirements, moving quickly, avoiding common pitfalls, and stacking multiple discounts smartly gives you the best chance of successfully redeeming discount codes to maximize value. What matters is ultimately the savings achieved rather than the mere illusion of value from unused codes sitting in your inbox or app.