Role of Coupons in Retail Marketing

What is Retailing ?

The sale of products to the customers from a fixed location (malls, department stores, super markets and so on) in small quantities for their end use is called as retailing.

Coupons play an important role in promoting the retail stores and making the brand popular amongst the masses.

What are Coupons ?

Any document which can be presented to the retailer to gain some kind of financial benefit in the form of discount on any product is called a coupon. Customers can get the coupons redeemed at the specific retail outlets to avail relevant discounts and rebates in shopping.

Role of Coupons in Retail Marketing

Coupons play an important role in attracting the customers into the store.
Coupons help in furthering the brand image of the retail store without huge investments. It makes the brand popular among the end-users. Individuals talk more about the brand, thus making it a hit amongst the masses.

What is Guerrilla Marketing ?

The concept of promoting products and brands on an extremely low budget is called as Guerrilla Marketing. Guerrilla marketing does not involve huge investments and is one of the most effective ways of creating brand awareness amongst the consumers.

Coupons are an effective tool for Guerrilla Marketing. The retailers can actually create brand awareness amongst the end users without spending much with the help of coupons.

How does Coupons help in Guerrilla Marketing ?

A Coupon is one of the most cost effective ways of promoting the brand with little investment.
Coupons make the brand popular as more and more customers visit the store to redeem their coupons.

Example - As a part of their marketing strategy, on every purchase of Domino’s pizza, the company offers discount coupons to the buyers. These discount coupons can be availed next time the customer places his order.

In such a situation, it is more likely that he would visit a Domino’s Outlet again to redeem his coupons and avail the discounts on the pizza. He would generally not prefer any other outlet as here in Domino’s he can get pizza at a lesser price as compared to others.

Dominos in this case used food coupons to attract the customers once again into the store.
Coupons go a long way in influencing the buying behaviour of the customers.
Coupons also bring in new customers to the store. The individuals, who do not even know about a particular brand, visit the store to use their coupons and also check out other options as well.
Coupons also benefit the customers as they can now purchase their desired merchandise at a lower cost.
Coupons increase the store traffic and also result in Impulse Buying.

What is Impulse Buying ?

Any unplanned buying is called as Impulse Buying. An individual might not require a particular product but picks it up out of mere emotions and feelings. Such a buying is called impulse buying. Impulse buying prompts the customer to purchase products which he might not even need that time.

Peter went to a retail store to redeem his discount coupons on shirts. The retailer had smartly displayed perfumes near the cash counter. While paying the bill, Peter could not resist purchasing two perfumes for himself along with the shirts. An example of Impulse Buying.