Everyone likes to save money and that is especially true of purchases you make regularly. This is an impulse that both the retailer and other businesses understand, so they offer an array of opportunities that aim to encourage you to buy from them. To help provide an incentive, shop owners turn to promotional, or coupon codes, which feature great deals to new and existing customers. Bonus codes are an excellent promotional strategy and are easy to use for both consumer and store owner.
Codes can target either individual items or offer a discount on your entire purchase. Codes typically are made up of a combination of letters and numerals, and also offer such perks as free shipping or gift wrapping services. If you are interested in exploring how bonus codes work in the real world, the following will clue you into what you need to know to begin saving money immediately.
The Psychology of Savings: Why Bonus Codes Work
The best business transaction is one that results in a win-win for both the retailer and the customer. Not only is the offer designed to entice you into the shop keeper’s establishment, but it also helps guarantee that you return for more great deals in the months and years to come.
Indeed, bonus codes have been scientifically linked to a positive shopping experience. According to research from the Center of Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, people who receive a promotional code exhibit higher level of oxytocin, a hormone linked to happiness, which indicates that people have a visceral response to receiving a bonus coupon that exceeds the feelings they receive than when they receive a gift.
This physiological response, coupled to the joy of getting savings on items they would normally buy anyways, is the basis of understanding why bonus codes work so well for retailers looking to draw in new customers while enhancing the shopping experience of longtime loyal consumers. Whether you are a store owner looking to attract sales, or a customer seeking great deals, bonus codes are the ideal way to encourage both results.
Types of Promotional Bonus Codes
Consumers have numerous options when it comes to receiving promotional bonus codes from their favorite stores or online retailers. Likewise, retailers can tailor their offerings depending on the type of customer they are trying to attract including public, private, and restricted bonus codes. For the best results, businesses utilize a mix of all three types of bonus codes.
Public codes are offerings that can be seen by anyone with the goal of luring new customers and enticing former shoppers into their shop. These codes are open to anyone who receives them, and can typically can be used an unlimited number of times. Readily available on coupon sites throughout the internet, retailers also send these offerings to their email and mailing lists.
Private codes are given to certain groups based on various factors including frequent shoppers, or to those with a specific buying history that the new coupon code offering will appeal. Private codes can only be used by the person receiving them and are an excellent way to reward loyal shoppers who are known for frequently a particular business.
Restricted codes are exclusive for the use of the recipient. When presented, the computer recognizes your specific information, and will not allow any other people to use the code. Targeted to a single user, the coupon can only be used a single time. As an example, a restricted code might be used to thank a customer for their 100th purchase, or it might be used as an apology for shipping the wrong item to their customer.
For best results, retailers will use a blend of all three types of bonus codes to ensure that they are targeting the widest possible cross section of possible customers from regular shoppers to those who have never visited the store before getting a coupon.
How Do Coupon Codes Work?
Using coupon codes or bonus offers is easy. In that same manner that printed promotional codes come with some restrictions. Conditions might include time restrictions, value limits, or product particulars. Once all of the individual conditions have been met, the store will honor the agreement. Needless to say, customers should read the offering’s fine print to ensure they are maximizing the value they will receive for using the coupon.
As an example, some codes might exclude certain brands or will not register on items already on sale. Other common restrictions include a minimum purchase requirement. For instance, a coupon code might offer a 15% discount on purchases of $100 or more, so if your purchase falls below that minimum $100 threshold, the coupon discount code would not be triggered. Finally, retailers might allow the customer to enter multiple promotional codes on an individual transaction, or may limit them to use of a single bonus code.
Where Do You Find Promotional Bonus Codes?
Prior to the advent of the internet, promotional codes were sent to the recipient’s mail box, but now they are readily available on a wide variety of online sites. Additionally, businesses maintain lengthily email lists and regularly update their customers with new promotional codes and events. If you are looking for deals at a particular business, contact them to see if you can be added to their newsletter or promotional list for the latest offerings on coupon deals and great bonus options. At the end of the day, promotional codes are readily available and well worth the effort you might put in to finding them in order to get great deals on the items you would normally buy anyways.
Advantages for Retailers in Using Bonus Codes
In addition to driving customers into their doors and convincing them to spend their money, using bonus codes has excellent marketing possibilities. They provide an effective way of tracking their marketing efforts, which allows them to see what platforms are delivering the biggest bang for their advertising buck. By assigning a specific promo code to a specific site, businesses can track whether they are receiving more attention from Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest and adjust their next advertising campaign accordingly. While promotional sales might be directed towards regular daily, weekly, or monthly sales events, businesses also offer seasonal bonuses worth looking out for when searching for sales. For customers, this means keeping their eyes open around the holidays including such traditional holiday sales events like the Fourth of July and President’s Day. As mentioned, promotional codes are a win-win for both the consumer and merchant. Not only does the consumer save money on items they would want to normally buy anyways, but merchants can drive in sales while tracking their marketing efforts in real time.
Bonus Offers for Online Poker and Casinos
How to Find Casino Bonuses – Once you register as a member of an online casino, you can click on your “Cashier” page and it should list all the current bonus offers you can accept. Even if you aren’t a member, you should be able to find reasonably accurate information on the website. Most online casinos have a “Promotions Page” that lists their many current promotions. If you can’t find the promotions on the homepage’s navigation bar, search using the name of the site and “promotions” and you should find it.
Sports Betting Bonuses – Sports betting websites offer bonus promotions similar to online casinos. In my experience, sports betting bonuses can be even better than online casino bonuses. For instance, it is not uncommon to see a sportsbook bonus with a 100% match rate. Many online sportsbooks offer “instant sign-up bonuses” or “free bets”, which are similar to the no-deposit bonuses offered by online casinos. These are smaller freeplay cash amounts, but the site offers cash without a deposit.
As you can see, the subject of online gambling bonuses is expansive. We’ve covered a lot of ground here today and it’s only scratched the surface. Keep reading this site and we’ll provide specific bonus information for the many online casino and poker websites you need to know about. In each site review, we’ll offer current information on the deposit and reload bonuses you want.
Wagering Requirement – The wagering requirement is even more important. The wagering requirement, sometimes referred to as the “rollover” or “playthrough” requirement, is the set of terms and conditions that determines when you can withdraw your bonus money. This is stated in terms of a multiplier. For instance, if you see “20x”, this means you have to wager the amount of the bonus twenty times before the promotional cash can be withdrawn.
If you receive that aforementioned $500 bonus and the wagering requirement is 20x, this means you have to wager $10,000 before you’ll be able to cash out. This might sound like a lot, but that kind of turnover goes quickly when you’re playing the slots or a table game like blackjack or roulette. The multiplier scales to the size of your bonus, so someone who accepts a $20 bonus would have to wager $400. Keep in mind that the house edge on blackjack is around 1%, so you only expect to lose $1 for every $100 wagered.
Bonus Terms & Conditions – That brings me to an important point. You might ask, “Why would a legitimate operator offer free cash to thousands of players?” Deposit bonuses are a form of promotion, so the site looks at the expenditure like it’s advertising dollars. Also, the wagering requirement and the house edge protect the casino operator from giving away too much freeplay cash.
If you accept a slots bonus with a 20x wagering requirement, you’ll expect to face a house edge between 3% and 7%. If you play an online slot at a 5% house edge and have a wagering requirement of 20x, then you would expect to lose $5 for every $100 wagered. If you had to wager $10,000 to withdraw your funds, then you would expect to lose $500 before you complete your rollover requirement. $500 is the amount of your bonus, so you would have even-money chances of even having bonus cash by the time the wagering requirement was met. Half of all new signups never will cash out their freeplay money.
Bonus Codes Can Save You Money
If you are looking to save money on the goods and services that you would normally buy anyways, you need to keep your eyes open for applicable promotional codes from your favorite stores. Retailers offer a variety of types of promotional codes, and they undoubtedly have a savings option for you and your family. Easy to use and easy to find, promotional bonus codes are an excellent way to stretch your budget, so keep your eyes open and read the fine print so that you do not lose out on any savings that should be coming to you on your next shopping trip.