A customer a couple of days ago purchased a Rolling Stones calendar after much deliberation – they didn’t want to pay the price we had it at.
Our team member encouraged the purchase commenting that they’d get a discount voucher. It worked.
Once they got their voucher they surprised us by then purchasing a Beatles mug without a second thought – using the discount voucher for some $$ off. This is happening regularly – people worry about how much they will spend on an item and then use the voucher they receive to make a less considered purchase.
Our year on year sales were up 14% in November and I’d put the majority of that down to discount voucher engagement by our team and our customers.
We have learned that discount vouchers fundamentally change shopper engagement. Concerns disappear as do price perceptions about the business. We are known for the vouchers, they are generating net new traffic for us. Plus they make visits, like that of the Rolling Stones fan, more valuable as they extend their basket.
With many shops in our 300+ store centre having access to most of what we stock, the discount vouchers are a point of difference. Our sales results demonstrate that they are a bankable point of difference.
But back to the Rolling Stokes shopper. I’m wondering why they worried about price for the Stones item but not for the Beatles item. Then there is they question of why one customer would purchase both items because back in the day you were either a Stones fan or a Beatles fan. These are questions for another day.
We are finding similar with the vouchers. Often a customer will make a purchase after being given the voucher that they may have made later at another store or had no intention of making at all. Our November figures were also up by a healthy figure .
The best bit with the voucher is that you interact with EVERY customer. A loyalty card works only for the customers you already have. I cannot count how many new customers have been, a. delighted to get the voucher and then b. immediately used it on something else.
Had a guy yesterday buy $40 worth of gifts for his wife. Just as the sale was finished his daughter came to the counter with a pink money box. Dad was about to tell her to put it back when I handed him a discount voucher. He used the voucher and bought the money box……perfect timing.
Great stories.
Do the majority of customers use the voucher ‘now’, or at a later visit ?
Lance it varies store to store and even month to month. In one of my stores, in a shopping mall where 25% to 30% of all shoppers are not regular, our usual day of redemption is a 33%. Currently, of all vouchers handed out, 25% are redeemed over the allowable 28 day period.
Males are far more likely to redeem the day of.