How to avoid problems with e-coupons?

[anis79]

Hi all,

I've been reading you carefully in the previous posts. I am the project manager at ProcouponMedia, the canadian e-coupons portal.

The e-coupon's industry is still in it's early stages, even if e-coupons have been around for a couple of years now. It is a fact that e-coupons are not yet broadly accepted but being more and more present in customers habits is forcing retailers and grocery chains to make the move. The e-coupon is the future of coupons because:

- It lets the customer choose what coupon he is really interested in instead of receiving thousands of coupons that one's MAY use;
- It's cheaper and easier to publish broadly which let manufacturers offer better deals.

We, at ProcouponMedia, are doing our part in educating grocery chains and retail store about what a valid e-coupon should be. Here is a couple of guidelines you should make sure of before using an e-coupon (it is always frustrating to have one's coupon refused by the cashier):

- Make sure an address appears on the e-coupon in order for the store to get paid back by the manufacturer. Unless the e-coupon you are using is issued by the store itself, you can be sure that the cashier will never accept a coupon if he's not sure to be paid back.

- Usually, manufacturers limit the number of coupons available. Thus, you should be careful when using a coupon that you can print indefinitely. Although some manufactures issue this kind of coupons, they'll be probably refusing to pay more than the budget they've allocated for their campaign.

- Be careful with freebies. I am not saying that freebies e-coupons are not accepted but usually, manufacturers will take big care before issuing a freebie coupon and will be less likely to distribute it broadly without any control over the quantities.

- Some points printed on the e-coupon will encourage a cashier to accept an e-coupon. I've spoke about the return address that must be present on the e-coupon earlier. The wording: "Manufacturer coupon", "Internet coupon", or "Printed on ..." should appear on an e-coupon to let the cashier recognize an e-coupon (thus not just being a scan and a re-print of a regular paper coupon). E-coupons having the customer name, address or postal code printed on the coupon will be more likely to be accepted. E-coupons should always show at least one unique barcode.

Please understand that this post is in no way a promotional post for our portal. We are following carefully the coupon's industry through good forums like canadianfreestuff.com and this post is in a way a "give back" to the community. I hope this will help you make more confident savings !

Cheers,

Anis

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