In spite of the surge in the popularity of coupon codes (for online shopping), there are many of us, who are still a bit skeptical about using them.  Today, within the scope of the post we will try and discover, the variant pros and cons of these coupon codes so that readers can make an informed decision regarding their use while shopping online.

Chance to Make Great Savings

At the onset, the greatest advantage of using discount coupons is obviously the savings that are made.  As a major shopaholic you might as well always be hunting for those marked down items both in online and offline stores.  Now, there are several discount coupon codes available for avid shoppers, whereby they can secure discounts starting from 10% to as high as 70% based on the company offering it.  Besides, substantial discounts, the coupon codes can also get you free items, depending on the available offer.  If you are regularly using these codes (like coupon codes from Nordstrom) you can easily add up around hundreds of dollars to your monthly savings.  Retailers, on the other hand, are definitely benefited by the increased sales.

The practice of shopping for goods online has often been hailed as a crucial factor reducing the carbon footprint.  The introduction of discount coupons can further be acknowledged for influencing more shoppers to go online to buy their products.  So, our environment is essentially affected by fewer air pollutants (the less people shop offline, the less they take their cars out).

Couponing in the Jammies by Lynn Currie, on Flickr.  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License.

Initial Costs Incurred

However, users should take note of one factor and that is if you are already buying the codes online, then there is already a cost incurred.  So, in the event of you not using the coupon for any reason whatsoever, your entire money (spent on buying the coupon) will be wasted.  Since the coupons come with expiry dates many of the buyers fail to use them on time.  They often pile up on coupons, only to find out later that they have expired.  However, if the buyers are little cautious to utilize the discount codes on time, then they can avoid these situations.  And, yes, never forget to confirm the validity of the code.

Defeats the Purpose of Loyalty Programs

Even retailers might face certain difficulties with these coupons.  There are certain codes which are specifically launched for regular or loyal users of the brand.  Some websites, however, expose these codes to the general public.  This seriously defeats the purpose of loyalty programs introduced by store owners or retailers.