By MetroCreative
Coupons enable cost-conscious consumers to save money on the goods and services they frequently use. Savvy shoppers use both traditional and digital coupons to earn big savings, according to Valassis, one of the nation’s leading media and marketing services.
Digital coupon is a broad term used to represent various deals offered in digital form. Rather than clipping paper coupons, shoppers can access online and in-store discounts in various ways. Some of the coupons available to consumers include:
• Downloaded coupons: These types of coupons can be downloaded from a company’s website, through email or through social media.
• Mobile coupons: Mobile coupons are created by ecommerce platforms to drive mobile shopping.
• Coupon codes: Shopping online has contributed to the rise of coupon codes. A code is entered at the point of sale, and the discount is automatically deducted.
• Loaded coupons: One of the more popular ways to redeem digital coupons, particularly those offered by supermarkets and other high-volume retailers, is to “load” coupons to a smartphone through an applicable store app. Shoppers often create an account that is tied to their store’s loyalty card number. By browsing the online circular or sales/coupons listed in the app, consumers can select the deals they want to load to their accounts. The deals are then redeemed at checkout either by scanning a code or automatically when the loyalty card is activated at the register.
Just like traditional paper coupons, digital coupons feature expiration dates. Many such coupons are only redeemable once and are not subject to doubling unless advertised.
For time-strapped individuals, digital coupons can be an efficient way to save on products without worrying about forgetting paper coupons at home. However, paper coupons still are widely available and continue to dominate the discount market.
Do and save
1. Create rewards accounts at your favorite grocery and other stores for digital savings.
2. Download iBotta app on your smartphone. Enter referral code FDFCIYA and use iBotta within 7 days of download to get $10 in your iBotta rebate account.
3. Enter your rewards numbers in iBotta to link your grocery/other stores to the rebates in iBotta.
4. Scroll through rebates in iBotta for your favorite grocery/other stores before shopping.
5. Show your rewards number to cashier before groceries/items are rung up.
6. After shopping, click the Redeem button in iBotta and select the store you shopped at. Some stores require a photo of your receipt instead of linking via a rewards account.
7. Within two days, your rebates will show up in your iBotta account.
8. Cash out your rebates when you’ve reached $20.
Do you have money-saving tips to share?
Questions? Send them to savingmoney@turnerpublishing.net today!
