Digital coupons are failing at customer experience

I love getting a deal. And when I score a product for $5 when it should be $7.99 for instance I’m elated and euphoric. So, needless to say, the idea of coupon cutting is a practice that I endorse and engage in avidly.

So, this morning when I read the NY Times article, “A Clip-and-Save Renaissance,” I could relate. Not only do I clip coupons for the obvious reasons of saving money. But, I also clip coupons because the practice is therapeutic. I enjoy it, as it gives me time to think and plan the meals that my family and I might enjoy over the coming week. I also get inspired to try new things that I might otherwise walk right past in the supermarket.

What I’ve described above is the feeling I get when I’m clipping coupons out of the Sunday paper or from fliers sent to my home direct from the retailer. In contrast, trying to “collect” and “clip” digital coupons is a huge pain in the neck. The number of steps you need to go through just to get to the darn coupon on these digital coupon sites is insane. And then half of the time once you get to the coupon you realize that it’s not exactly what you wanted and so all your effort is lost. Many times these sites require you to install special software on your computer (which most times is not Mac compatible…you can tell what type of machine I use). It’s no wonder that digital coupons still account for less than 0.5% of all coupons distributed in the nation.

These digital coupons sites are missing the boat, focusing all their efforts and attention on security, at the expense of the experience that people have with their sites. Their eye is on helping people save money, while they’re simultaneously ignoring all the other benefits that people gain from the practice of coupon clipping.

Digital coupons could be a “game charger,” if efforts were taken to infuse the experiential qualities of clipping paper coupons into the digital experience. Come on, who wouldn’t love to search for a coupon for their favorite ice cream or yogurt for instance instead of waiting patiently for it to show up in the paper 10 weeks from now? Or think about the alerts that you could create? There are endless possibilities, but before they can be realized the digital coupon sites need to start putting their customers front and center and focus on making the online experience as easy, serendipitous, and carefree as their direct competitor: the paper coupon.

Photo credit: grand grrl

Categories: Customer experience, Personal