Ten things you didn't know about voucher codes
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Discount voucher codes are now such a proven sales tool that any retailer worth their salt will include them in their marketing campaigns. Countless websites have been created to satisfy our insatiable thirst for voucher codes, many of them willing and able to deliver new codes into our inbox on a daily basis.
Voucher codes have quite simply revolutionised the way restaurants and shops do business and quite simply changed the way we shop for good. So we all agree - we like voucher codes, a lot! But do you know everything there is to know about them? Maybe not. Here are 10 things you didn't know about voucher codes.
1. The very first coupon was created in 1887 by the Coca Cola Company, who gave out free coupons to their employees to distribute to their families. Within ten years, one in nine Americans had received a free drink through a complimentary coupon, putting Coca Cola very firmly on the map.
2. In the USA, coupon collecting is a way of life and has been since before the second world war. Any retailer not offering coupons will struggle to build a loyal customer base.
3. Retailers in the USA often use discount coupons to promote new products. This is the exact opposite to the UK, where new products are generally sold at a higher price.
4. There are lots of great voucher code forums online where users share voucher codes and provide feedback on best buys.
5. 58% of British shoppers said they used e-vouchers when Christmas shopping in 2009, according to a survey commissioned by website Voucher Hub.
6. According to the same survey, nearly two thirds of UK shoppers would be happy to use e-vouchers if they knew more about them, while 40 percent said they weren't sure where to find e-vouchers in the first place.
7. Customers seem to feel more comfortable knowing exactly how much discount a voucher code will give them. For this reason, voucher codes offering a fixed discount like £10 off are more popular than percentage discounts.
8. Most voucher codes have a shelf life. To avoid disappointment, always check the expiry date before you try to use one.
9. The majority of online shoppers like to make their purchases at the start of the week. Statistics reveal that online shoppers are most active on Monday evenings. Despite this clear shopping trend, most retailers release their best voucher offers on Friday afternoons as a way to try and boost weekend sales figures!
10. Voucher codes are now available on smart phones, meaning there is no longer any need to print off a paper copy. Save time and paper by downloading a code to your phone, then just show it to your waiter or sales assistant to claim the discount.
With demand for discount vouchers on the increase, retailers are constantly coming up with new ways to use voucher codes and customers just keep on devouring them.
Voucher codes have quite simply revolutionised the way restaurants and shops do business and quite simply changed the way we shop for good. So we all agree - we like voucher codes, a lot! But do you know everything there is to know about them? Maybe not. Here are 10 things you didn't know about voucher codes.
1. The very first coupon was created in 1887 by the Coca Cola Company, who gave out free coupons to their employees to distribute to their families. Within ten years, one in nine Americans had received a free drink through a complimentary coupon, putting Coca Cola very firmly on the map.
2. In the USA, coupon collecting is a way of life and has been since before the second world war. Any retailer not offering coupons will struggle to build a loyal customer base.
3. Retailers in the USA often use discount coupons to promote new products. This is the exact opposite to the UK, where new products are generally sold at a higher price.
4. There are lots of great voucher code forums online where users share voucher codes and provide feedback on best buys.
5. 58% of British shoppers said they used e-vouchers when Christmas shopping in 2009, according to a survey commissioned by website Voucher Hub.
6. According to the same survey, nearly two thirds of UK shoppers would be happy to use e-vouchers if they knew more about them, while 40 percent said they weren't sure where to find e-vouchers in the first place.
7. Customers seem to feel more comfortable knowing exactly how much discount a voucher code will give them. For this reason, voucher codes offering a fixed discount like £10 off are more popular than percentage discounts.
8. Most voucher codes have a shelf life. To avoid disappointment, always check the expiry date before you try to use one.
9. The majority of online shoppers like to make their purchases at the start of the week. Statistics reveal that online shoppers are most active on Monday evenings. Despite this clear shopping trend, most retailers release their best voucher offers on Friday afternoons as a way to try and boost weekend sales figures!
10. Voucher codes are now available on smart phones, meaning there is no longer any need to print off a paper copy. Save time and paper by downloading a code to your phone, then just show it to your waiter or sales assistant to claim the discount.
With demand for discount vouchers on the increase, retailers are constantly coming up with new ways to use voucher codes and customers just keep on devouring them.
Buying Gifts For Your Mum For Mother's Day
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
If you are anything like the thousands of other sons and daughters around the country, you will be heading for the supermarkets and florists later this Spring to pick up that annual bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day.
The celebration of Mothering Sunday has its roots in the 16th century, when it became traditional for people working away from their town or village to return home once a year to their 'Mother Church' on the fourth Sunday of Lent. As the tradition took hold, it evolved to be thought of as the day when child workers returned to visit their families, picking flowers along the way to give to their mothers. And so Mother's Day was born and grew into the occasion we dedicate to thanking mothers all over the world for their love and sacrifices.
There is no doubt that we do splash out on Mother's Day gifts. The flower industry certainly does well out of the occasion, selling almost 4 million bouquets, which adds up to 40% more than at any other time of the year. Mother's Day gifts have always echoed the freshness of Spring, the season with which the occasion coincides, so flowers have remained the obvious choice for centuries, the most popular blooms being roses, tulips and freesias. We need only see the sea of bouquets placed strategically at the entrance of our supermarkets in the days running up to Mother's Day to appreciate the demand. That doesn't mean, however, that we can't be more imaginative and search for alternative gift ideas that may be more lasting or appropriate to her personality.
As an alternative to real flowers, why not consider one of a range of gorgeous silk flower arrangements set in their own display pot or vase. Artistry with silk has reached outstanding levels of quality and allows for the most exotic of flowers to be represented, as well as the types of flowers that would normally wilt inside a centrally heated home such as hellebores and lilac. Some of these arrangements look so lifelike they fool even the most green-fingered experts and they make fabulous centrepieces that can be carried from room to room as the mood takes you. They may be pricier than standard bouquets but they ooze class and their timeless beauty will last forever.
If you've decided against flowers this year but you're lacking in imagination, there are plenty of Mother's Day gift ideas to choose from online. Specialist gift websites have taken the hard work out of that gift search and are now offering everything from pamper kits for stressed out ladies to inflatable zimmer frames for the mum with a sense of humour. You could even choose from a wide range of experience gifts and treat your mum to a once in a lifetime chance to do something she has only ever dreamed of. From abseiling to white water rafting, kayaking to microlighting, the world will be her oyster if she's blessed with an adventurous spirit. It's certainly worth opening your eyes to new ideas you are guaranteed never to have considered in the past. For inspiration, simply Google Mother's Day gifts and let the experts take the lead.
The celebration of Mothering Sunday has its roots in the 16th century, when it became traditional for people working away from their town or village to return home once a year to their 'Mother Church' on the fourth Sunday of Lent. As the tradition took hold, it evolved to be thought of as the day when child workers returned to visit their families, picking flowers along the way to give to their mothers. And so Mother's Day was born and grew into the occasion we dedicate to thanking mothers all over the world for their love and sacrifices.
There is no doubt that we do splash out on Mother's Day gifts. The flower industry certainly does well out of the occasion, selling almost 4 million bouquets, which adds up to 40% more than at any other time of the year. Mother's Day gifts have always echoed the freshness of Spring, the season with which the occasion coincides, so flowers have remained the obvious choice for centuries, the most popular blooms being roses, tulips and freesias. We need only see the sea of bouquets placed strategically at the entrance of our supermarkets in the days running up to Mother's Day to appreciate the demand. That doesn't mean, however, that we can't be more imaginative and search for alternative gift ideas that may be more lasting or appropriate to her personality.
As an alternative to real flowers, why not consider one of a range of gorgeous silk flower arrangements set in their own display pot or vase. Artistry with silk has reached outstanding levels of quality and allows for the most exotic of flowers to be represented, as well as the types of flowers that would normally wilt inside a centrally heated home such as hellebores and lilac. Some of these arrangements look so lifelike they fool even the most green-fingered experts and they make fabulous centrepieces that can be carried from room to room as the mood takes you. They may be pricier than standard bouquets but they ooze class and their timeless beauty will last forever.
If you've decided against flowers this year but you're lacking in imagination, there are plenty of Mother's Day gift ideas to choose from online. Specialist gift websites have taken the hard work out of that gift search and are now offering everything from pamper kits for stressed out ladies to inflatable zimmer frames for the mum with a sense of humour. You could even choose from a wide range of experience gifts and treat your mum to a once in a lifetime chance to do something she has only ever dreamed of. From abseiling to white water rafting, kayaking to microlighting, the world will be her oyster if she's blessed with an adventurous spirit. It's certainly worth opening your eyes to new ideas you are guaranteed never to have considered in the past. For inspiration, simply Google Mother's Day gifts and let the experts take the lead.
