Coupon Junkie

Yes I am a coupon junkie. I love saving money. Pay less for more sounds so attractive. So I save every coupon I can lay my hands on. At this one store, I found out that I had saved close to 40% of my cost just by using coupons. One may think that merchants make coupons to give free money to customers. That's not true. Coupons are actually made to increase profits for merchants. Yes. But they are made in such a way that both sides win.

But first, what do coupons do for the merchant?

First, coupons will motivate buyers. You may not have plans to spend that $1,000 in your pocket. But the moment you see that your dream laptop computer is now 40% off, the temptation is planted and before you know, you are walking that buyer lane again to take advantage of the discount. And there goes your $1,000. The thing is, you will never know how much that 40% is worth to the merchant.

Secondly, a store that issues coupons tends to get more exposure. Coupon junkies are always looking online and going through the store's catalog looking for coupons. This constant placement of the store's brand in the eyes of its customers increases brand equity.

In the end, coupons are a win on both sides. But the customer spends less time calculating the benefits than the merchant does. And yes, the merchant sometimes is more equal than the customer.