How much do back of receipt coupons actually save you?
As a rule, my generation is pretty good at switching off when we feel like we’re being advertised to. Generation Y’s world is built around advertising, so we’re pretty convinced by our reputation of marketing-savvy. It should be noted, however, that we’re very proud of this image and state it often in pubs while sporting new Raybans, an Ed Hardy T-shirt, Vans and Lovable underwear. Like every generation before us, were blissfully ignorant of our own hypocrisy.
This is all a long-winded explanation of why I ignore the back of my Coles receipt. But bias was put aside when I conducted another of my famous Scientific and Empirically Flawless Experiments.
The results are below:
The Great Back of Receipt Savings Experiment
Aim
To ascertain whether the coupons on the back of a receipt can save you money
Hypothesis
In a word, no. I felt that the coupons on the back of a receipt were merely advertising with a pretty (but useless) discount tacked to the front.
Method
1) Take one receipt from an ordinary purchase. In this case, it was a receipt from the emergency run to the shops for essentials- milk, bread and apples (and doughnuts, but that was accidental and deeply regretted)
2) Analyse the savings on each of the advertisements. Would I use them? Would they save me money?
Results
- Coupon #1: A coupon from Bing Lee, this offered 15 cents on digital prints while you wait. A good deal? I thought so. On further inspection, however, it was revealed that this deal was only valid in the Alexandria and Marrickville stores. Cost analysis of the income lost in travelling to Marrickville and the bus fare (especially considering all my photos are on Facebook and not printed anyway) proved this to be a coupon I would not use. Rating: 5/10. Not something I could use, but valuable for people in Alexandria or Marrickville.
- Coupon #2: An ad for Hot Dockets website. Dismissed from research as outside of research scope.
- Coupon #3: 5 nights at the Gold Coast, with 2 nights free, for $299. Included half price dinner coupons at three restaurants. Rating: 2/10. Sadly, this has a lot to do with my suspicions, namely that I would never trust a ‘2 nights for free’ kind of hotel. Compared with the cost of staying in a private room at a hostel, this deal was not a saving measure, especially when it was only valid until the 30th of November.
- Coupon #4: A free meal. The usual ‘purchase one meal and get your second meal free’. I was skeptical, I freely admitted it. Then I saw where it was. The Empire Hotel in Annandale. A place I frequent regularly. I could eat there for half price, and it was already cheap to begin with. Rating: 9/10. This is a coupon I could (and did) use. It saved me ten dollars, for which I will be eternally thankful.
The overall result? A quick run to the shop saved me ten dollars. Coupons on the back of a receipt are usually time-specific and very inflexible, but they’re worth keeping an eye on. They’re often from locally based businesses, and you might find one of your favourite places is offering a discount. I’ll certainly be paying more attention from now on.
Do you use the back of your receipt to save you money?
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