Deal shopping and discount hunting have been a thing for as long as the retail industry has existed as a major force. Once we left the age of one-show-in-town shops where we could barter and entered the period of mass retail, the idea of paying the advertised price for everything purchased became less and less appealing. That ushered in the concept of seeking deals, couponing, and price-matching.
In the early days, this came in the form of finding newspaper coupons or regularly checking in with multiple retailers. It wasn’t uncommon to see shoppers walking around clutching a fistful of coupons or a book full of vouchers. However, this was all to change in the 21st Century as new technology led to a complete overhaul of the retail industry.
The internet brought with it an easier way to compare deals, get access to vouchers, and shop from markets previously unattainable. It democratised shopping in a way that nobody truly saw coming. Extreme couponing was no longer an endurance sport; it was a home event that could be done without leaving the comfort of the sofa. So, is the internet the biggest thing that happens to retail deals?
Not Just the Retail Industry to Be Hit by the Internet’s Power
Firstly, it would be silly of us to suggest that it’s only the retail industry that has been shaken up by the internet. There’s very little that it hasn’t touched in some way. You only need to look at how our entertainment preferences have shifted to see that this is the case. In many ways, entertainment is the area that is most comparable with retail, even when discussing freebies, vouchers, and deals.
Take the online casino sector. Once the games of the casino floor had made their way to the internet, it meant that there was suddenly a whole host of operators that players could access from home. Because of that, many operators are offering welcome deals to attract new players.
At Karamba NZ casino, for example, new players can receive up to $1,000 on making a new account. These sorts of deals are the industry’s way of establishing brand loyalty and encouraging players to migrate to new platforms.
You can even see this in other forms of entertainment media. Amazon Prime has become one of the most popular film and TV streaming platforms on the market. It’s also one of the very few that still offer a free trial of its services. Others like Netflix have solidified their market share and no longer offer these trial periods.
However, 10 years ago, it was possible for someone to maximise these trials by employing them at different times to ensure they could wring every last drop of value from them.
Plug-Ins and Apps for the Savvy Consumer in the Modern Age
Where, in the past, we relied on magazines, newspapers, and through-the-door coupon booklets, the modern-day consumer doesn’t need any of these physical vouchers. The internet has opened up a whole new world with apps and in-browser plug-ins that take all of the hard work of deal-seeking away and automate it.
And that hasn’t been without its issues, either. Most recently, the PayPal-backed Honey extension has come under fire for circumventing affiliate payments and ignoring better coupons in favour of its own, per The Verge. However, the concept is something that is clearly popular, and it shows that there is a future where no one needs to manually find deals or coupons ever again.
That could be somewhat controversial still. As with anything that has become seen as part of the Internet of Things, one of the biggest concerns is data farming and privacy. How much of our shopping preferences are we willing to share with a plug-in or app for it to save us money and find us the best deals on the market?
Deal-Hunting May Never Truly Be the Same, But Vouchers Still Survive
It’s important to note that the mass adoption of these automatic deal-finders is probably not at the level many would imagine, given their simplicity. Instead, companies like Groupon remain popular, and even the humble supermarket gift card is keeping its head above water.
The internet has completely changed how we do so many things in life. However, it could have had the biggest effect on couponers and deal-hunters. With more automation on the horizon, could we see the end of the traditional voucher search?
