Everyone loves a deal, and when you can get a percentage off your purchase, why not go for it?
That’s why coupon codes are so highly sought after. These codes sweeten the online shopping experience by taking a percentage off the final price of items we intend to purchase. There are always hundreds of promo codes floating around the internet. You just have to find them.
But how can you find promo codes? What are the best ways? Are there hidden coupon codes out there that can give you an even better shopping experience?
In this article, we’re going to explore ten ways that you can find the best coupon codes for the businesses you love. By following the advice listed below, you’ll always be confident that you’re getting the very best price for the products you need.
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Coupon codes are, quite simply, an ideal way to save money on the items you need to buy.
They’re codes (composed of either numbers, letters, or a combination of the two) that you enter at checkout when making a purchase that will give you a percentage off your order. Coupon codes are available for everything from retail stores to subscription services and everything in between.
In 2020, 88% of all consumers were using coupons in their shopping, with 142 million adults in the United States redeeming digital coupons. This year, it’s expected that the value of digital coupons will reach $91 billion.
Coupon codes are incredibly popular, but how effective are they at saving you money?
They can make a big difference, especially on large purchases. Statista reports that 89% of millennial shoppers in the US would try a new brand if offered a discount.
The thing to remember about coupon codes is that they’re constantly changing. You have to keep your ear to the ground to find the latest and greatest deals. Often coupon codes can be found through media sources like podcasts, blogs, and websites. But there are many other ways to find them that don’t involve consuming content you may not be interested in.
Now that you’re familiar with the idea of coupon codes, it’s time to talk about where you can find them. There are many places around the web where you can find and utilize promo codes.
Here’s a list of ten places where you can find ways to discount your final bill at checkout.
Coupon code services exist for the purpose of finding and utilizing coupon codes. They collect codes from around the web for just about any retailer that you can think of, creating a database for you to peruse at your leisure.
CouponFollow is one such service, providing you with the latest and best coupon codes for many brands.
You can use our database to find coupon codes for the businesses you order from. First, just go to our website and type in the company you’re looking for.
The image above, taken from the CouponFollow website, shows what happens when you look up Walmart, one of the largest retailers in the world.
Sites like CouponFollow highlight some of the top codes while also listing some lesser-known codes and promotions.
New codes are submitted constantly, meaning that you could save huge by just keeping up with your favorite retailer on a platform like this.
A coupon code service like CouponFollow is truly the ideal shopping companion for the budget-minded consumer.
Google is a powerful tool that people use in their daily lives. It can also be a tool that helps people look online for coupon codes.
The image above shows how you can easily search online for coupon codes. This is an example of what pops up when you type in “Best Buy coupon codes.” You can see that most of the results you’ll get are coupon code services like CouponFollow.
The entire first page of the Google SERP is full of results like this, all of them containing the latest coupon codes for the services you’re interested in. There are even questions listed underneath some of them, like in the example above.
In this case, Google shows our answers to “Does Best Buy have coupons?” and “How do I use my Best Buy coupon?”
While Google can be an effective coupon code finding tool, it might require some trial and error. The results you pull up could be outdated, containing older codes that don’t work anymore. Depending on the page you click on, you might end up making the process longer and more frustrating for yourself.
There’s a chance that certain retailers might have coupon codes listed on their websites. This makes sense when you realize that retailers actually want you to use these coupon codes. They’re not some big secret that you’re trying to uncover.
Typically during big events like a holiday sale or a semi-annual sale, huge retailers will have graphics on their website listing whatever promo codes you’re going to need to save big while making purchases.
Make sure you’re checking all the visual graphics on retailer websites, as this is a prime location where they might decide to list some coupon codes. Many of these sales also have landing pages online, so when doing your Google searches from the previous step, you might run into these sales pages.
It’s important to remember that the coupon codes you find on a retailer's website might not be all the coupon codes being offered. Retailers often apply specific coupon codes and deals to specific marketing ventures. They do this so that it’s easier to track successful campaigns.
That means certain special offers might only be found elsewhere, like on a podcast or with a social media influencer. Those influencer deals won’t be listed on a retailer’s website, so you have to do some digging.
Bottom line, searching retailer websites could be a good idea, but it shouldn’t be the only place you look.
Many shops and big retailers use email marketing to communicate deals and drive more online revenue. These email newsletters are sent out regularly and typically contain some exclusive coupon codes.
To take advantage of these codes, you’ll have to opt in to receiving communications directly from retailers and subscribe to their newsletters.
Newsletters often come out regularly, so once you know the schedule, you’ll be able to anticipate their arrival. This will help you stay up to date on all promotions.
It’s important, however, to change your spam filter options. Otherwise, these important messages chock full of money-saving deals could end up lost in the void of your spam folder.
If you’re using a service like Gmail, which has its own separate folder for promotional content, make sure you’re regularly checking so that you don’t miss out on a limited-time promo code. You can even change your settings to have these newsletter messages delivered into your general inbox. This makes them easier to notice.
Customer support representatives are always looking for ways to improve the customer experience. They also have access to a wealth of coupon codes and promotional offerings that they’ll be more than willing to share with you.
To that end, ask customer support if there are any discounts or promotions that can be applied to your orders. They’re even more likely to provide this information if you’re calling about an issue that you’re having.
If you’re reaching out to a cell phone carrier like Verizon, for example, they’re typically running promotional offerings that can make your monthly phone bill more affordable. If you’re not happy with your bill, you can call customer service and ask them if any promotions can be applied to your account to get your monthly bill lower.
Usually, they’ll be happy to apply these promotions because they want you to remain a loyal customer. The only downside to this strategy is that you might have to wait on hold for a long time to speak to a customer service representative.
Social media can be an amazing place to find coupon codes, as long as you know where to look. A lot of businesses engage in influencer marketing through social media platforms, where people with large audiences market relevant products and provide discount codes.
These are codes you won’t be able to find in other places. Each influencer has their own specific codes offered only to their followers. They then receive a commission on all sales made using those codes.
This is done through tracking the specific code you use, which the retailer uses to both determine who to pay commissions to and how many new customers influencer campaigns are bringing in.
Look for influencers in the industry you’re interested in on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Follow them and use notifications to alert you when they make a post or create a story. This ensures that you’re not going to miss any coupon codes that these people share.
YouTube is another huge platform for influencer marketing. Subscribe to channels for the industries you love. For example, if you’re one of those people who always wants the latest Apple product, subscribe to a YouTube channel that reviews these devices.
You don’t even have to watch the video if you don’t want to. Most influencers will list their coupon codes in the description, which is ultra-convenient.
This is a tactic that doesn’t work all the time, but it’s usually worth a try. Many eCommerce retailers specifically target abandoned shopping carts with promotional offerings, as they feel that these customers represent low-hanging fruit.
These are customers who have shopped around the retailer’s store, placed items in their online shopping cart, but then navigated away from the page without completing the purchase. Typically, these items will remain in the cart, and the retailer will attempt to get you back.
Sometimes, these attempts to woo you back are nothing more than a simple reminder that you’ve left items in your cart. However, sometimes the retailer will try to sweeten the deal by providing you with a discount. Usually, this has a time limit attached to it because they want you to pop back over to the site as quickly as possible.
After filling your cart with items, simply navigate away from the site and wait. Typically, the retailer will send you an email trying to get you back. Look over this email and see if they include a special promotion or coupon code. If they don’t, it might be worth waiting another day or so.
This can be an innovative way to collect coupon codes, but it’s far from a sure thing. Sometimes you won’t get an email. Other times, when you do, it won’t include any kind of deal. If you’re looking for guaranteed success, this isn’t the way to do it, but it might come in handy with a little luck.
If you have a brand that you love but find a better coupon code for one of their chief competitors, it might be worth trying it out with your chosen store. That’s because some retailers will honor competitor coupons. It’s a fairly common tactic that’s meant to counteract any major deal that might pull otherwise loyal customers away.
Again, this isn’t something that will always work, and it’s entirely dependent on the retailer in question. However, it’s definitely worth a try. The worst that could happen is that the code doesn’t work or someone tells you no.
First, try entering the competitor coupon code at checkout for your favorite retailer. If that doesn’t work straight away, you could try calling or emailing customer support. Simply explain to them that you were looking for a specific product that they offer, but you found it on a competitor's website for a better price.
Link them to the deal and provide them with the coupon code, asking if they will honor that price. Chances are, if they want to keep your business, they’ll work with you to provide a solution that doesn’t send you into the waiting arms of one of their rivals.
Again, this is a tactic that won’t always work, but it’s worth a try. Much like our last tactic, if you have to call customer service, you may be stuck waiting on hold for a while or waiting for an email response.
Let’s say you find a coupon code, but it’s expired. You might think that it’s the end of the road and that this code you’ve found is basically worthless. But that’s not always the case.
Enter it into your retailer’s website at checkout and see if this recently expired code will still work. Sometimes, they remain in the system for a period of time after expiration. Think of it as a grace period that the retailer doesn’t advertise.
Again, there’s no harm in trying this, as the worst that could happen is you get an error message for an invalid code. If this happens, you could try to call customer service and ask them if you can still get the deal. They want your business, and if the code is still in their system, sometimes they’ll be able to honor it.
Even if they can’t, there might be a similar or even better coupon code available that you hadn’t found yet. If that’s the case, the representative will let you know so that you can take advantage of the savings.
Promo codes can help you create the ideal shopping experience, saving money and purchasing more within your chosen budget.
But finding those codes can be difficult if you don’t know where to look. The ten options listed above will help you find the best coupon codes for the brands you love.
However, the easiest option is still the first one: Use a coupon code service like CouponFollow to save money and find all of the best coupon codes in record time.