The reason I ask this question is that with the ever growing popularity of voucher codes why are merchants offering these types of discounts. The usual answer you’ll hear is that it improves conversions. However I have noticed a severe drop in conversions when a merchant starts to offer discount vouchers so I don’t really believe that. It is widely acknowledge that Amazon, which only has a 24 hour cookie and no discount voucher code box, converts around 4% – no other company comes close!
On paper, the discount voucher code scheme should work! If you offer a product then indicate that the consumer can achieve a further 5% saving using this code then the consumer would be further motivated to buy the product and you should get the commission. On paper this may be a good idea but in reality the Internet savvy consumer will not be satisfied with this saving. He will surf further looking for a a bigger discount and when he finds that there aren’t any he’ll just buy the product using the last entry site which is doubtless a voucher code dedicated site. Result – loss in commission! (more…)