Independent voucher code website My Favourite Voucher Codes, conducted a survey into whether users felt that retail sales gave them great value for money. The results showed that a staggering 87%1 of those polled said that repetitive sales gave them no confidence that they were actually saving any money on discounted goods.
Inflated prices
Instead, they felt that the retailers artificially inflated prices before advertising the sale and that discount websites, such as My Favourite Voucher Codes, was the only way to see a real benefit. ‘Fake’ sales have been a long-standing problem for consumers as they look for ways to cut back – so much so, that there was an investigation into it by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in 2012.
As a result eight major supermarkets agreed to ensure that their special offers and pricing were fair to consumers by signing up to a new code2. One of the principles of the code states that the discount period can not be longer than the ‘normal-price’ period, thereby preventing retailers from inflating the price temporarily.
Free delivery codes preferred
My Favourite Voucher Codes also found that 90%(1) of users quizzed, expressed that the one discount they can trust is free delivery. When offered free delivery codes, users felt that they were receiving a genuine savings as shipping charges are often unnecessarily expensive.
Finding from previous Affiliate Window consumer research suggested that shoppers are more likely to order if they get free delivery. On average, it found that orders with free delivery had a 30% higher value than those being charged postage and packaging3.
Voucher codes
These latest statistics back up previous figures published online that suggest that the number of people using discount codes was on the rise.
A study by One Poll found that seven out of ten(4) UK adults are now going online to find discount vouchers and data from Google Adwords shows that the term ‘voucher code’ is being searched over 60 million times each month(5).
The demographic of voucher code users has also changed with over 60% of people earning £50-60,000 per annum(4), taking advantage of online deals.
Entrepreneur and site owner, Julian House, commented on the findings: “Given the long-standing issue of retailers inflating prices, it’s no real surprise that consumers have lost faith in traditional sales. However, I am glad that people are still able to make genuine savings from sites like My Favourite Voucher Codes.”
Kaynak : 