Some history
The first discount coupon was introduced back in 1895. What was the first timid marketing experiment in the end of 19th century turned into a huge industry now, with over 400 billion printed coupons issued last year in the USA alone! One discount site Coupons.com issued over 1.2 billion dollars worth coupons in 2010! Total financial value of discounts redeemed by the US customers in 2010 topped $3.55 billion dollars.
Though very few had doubts about efficiency of coupons, modern researches show us this problem in a little different manner. Marketing analysts and consumer rights experts believe there are some disadvantages of discount coupons.
First of all, coupons cannot be considered as an effective marketing tool, as no more than 2 % of them are redeemed.
Secondly, coupons have very poor capabilities for targeting potential customers. Chance you’ll see the coupon you need among many others you don’t is ridiculously slim.
Thirdly, all coupons have expiration date, and savings usually are rather small.
Next, usually there exists a limit: one coupon per customer.
Also, customer still has to pay sales tax no matter what discount.
As you see, coupons have some drawbacks for both sellers and buyers. However, after Internet entered our lives, coupons more and more become virtual, and thus satisfy both parties: they easier target their customers, and lack disadvantages of printable coupons which customers may despise.
