Are You Still Paying Full Price?

Over the last 18-24 months, it has become very obvious that only suckers still pay full price for just about anything.  Coming out of the '08 economic crisis most retailers were focused on maintaining consumer interest by offering steeper discounts, loyalty programs and 'always on' promotions.  Once things 'rebounded', the advent of group discounting/buying sites became more prevalent, leaving consumers with multiple options on securing many items and services.


If you want to save more on your consumer spending contributions, let's review some of your options..


Promo Codes:
On most every retailers checkout process, there is a data field option asking to 'apply promo code'.  You can either grab the code at that moment (by opening another browser) or begin your shopping experience from a coupon site.

Free shipping, % off discounts, dollar-off discounts and loyalty point rewards are the common discounts/promotions that can be found prior to or during any shopping experience. 


Start at couponcabin.com, retailmenot.com or bradsdeals.com.  You can find these discounts for just about any brand you often shop.  These sites also promote in-store coupon options as well.


Private Sales:
These sites satisfy the consumers need to feel like they belong to an exclusive club. Exclusive, because many are invite only.  But models are shifting since the daily deal landscape has become very saturated.  From OneKingsLane for furniture, to GiltGroupe or RueLaLa for fashion, to Zulilly or BabySteals.com for kids clothing.  I'll put it this way, whatever your category, just Google "[your favorite category] daily deal site" and you will most likely discover yet another one.

Group Buying & Daily Deals:
The future of the group buying model is still unfolding in front of our eyes.  What seems like a great deal to the local customer, may be putting your favorite mom-and-pop shop out of business.
Plus for the estimated $577 million of daily deals that go unredeemed, a new market for reselling those unused deals is beginning to flourish as well.
Keep an eye on BuyWithMe and LivingSocial for the group based, daily deals.

SMS/Mobile Programs:
The increase of mobile/smartphone usage will only help increase a consumer's ability to gain discounts. Many retailers will provide a sign up prompt, promising exclusive discounts if you provide a mobile number and opt in to the program.  More and more retailers will leverage your physical location to target you with these exclusive offers. Mobile proximity marketing is projected to be a $6 Billion market by 2015.


Think twice the next time you're about to pay full price for something.  There are options out there to help save you money.