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Coupons have long stopped being just “newspaper cutouts.” Today, they are a full-fledged savings tool used by millions of shoppers around the world. Online shopping, marketplaces, mobile apps, and brands offer various forms of coupons — and each has its own logic, benefits, and usage nuances. To get the most out of them, it’s important to understand what types of coupons exist, how they work, and when they are most profitable to use.
In this guide, I will break everything down clearly: what types of coupons there are, how they differ, and how they work in real purchases.
The most popular type is classic discount coupons. They reduce the price of a product or service by a fixed amount or a certain percentage. This could be a coupon for -10%, -20%, or, for example, “minus 150 UAH from the total order amount.”
These coupons are often used in e-commerce, the restaurant business, marketplaces, and online stores. They are simple, clear, and maximally attractive to the buyer: you immediately see how much you save. Brands, in turn, receive a powerful tool to boost sales, push products to the top, and attract new customers.
Discount coupons are especially effective during seasonal sales: Black Friday, Cyber Monday, summer and winter sales. During such periods, stores actively combine sale prices with coupon discounts, allowing the buyer to receive almost “double savings.”
A promo code is a numeric or alphanumeric code that must be entered manually during checkout. Its main advantage is flexibility. Promo codes are often used for personalized offers, such as:
Companies choose promo codes because they are easy to segment, analyze, and use in advertising campaigns. This is one of the most convenient ways to track channel performance since each group receives its own unique code.
For the buyer, a promo code offers exclusive benefits that are not publicly available. Often, such discounts are bigger than standard coupons due to their “limited access” and personalization.
A cashback coupon does not reduce the price of a product during the purchase, but it returns part of the spent money after payment. This can be a fixed amount or a specific percentage — 3%, 5%, 10%, or even more.
Cashback services and large retail chains actively use this tool because it motivates the customer to return. Essentially, the brand builds long-term loyalty: “Make a purchase now and receive money for the next one.”
For the buyer, cashback is a way to accumulate value for future purchases. This is especially popular for big expenses: electronics, travel, home appliances. Often, cashback coupons provide much greater savings than standard discounts, especially if the service adds its own bonuses.
This type of coupon does not provide a direct monetary discount but significantly reduces the final purchase amount. Delivery costing 70–150 UAH is an important factor, especially when buying small items. That is why free shipping coupons often become the decisive factor that motivates the customer to place an order right now.
Such coupons are especially effective for stores with a low average order value, where buyers are more sensitive to additional costs. For marketplaces, free shipping coupons are a way to convert views into purchases, increase the number of repeat orders, and encourage buyers to combine several items into one parcel.
A gift coupon (or gift certificate) is a fixed amount that can be used for a purchase in a specific store. Unlike classic coupons, it does not simply provide a discount — it essentially acts as money.
This type of coupon is very popular during the holiday season when people buy gifts but cannot decide on a specific item. A gift coupon solves the problem: the person chooses what they need, and the giver is sure they made the right choice.
For businesses, this is profitable because many gift certificate owners end up buying items that exceed the coupon’s value, and the certificate itself guarantees a new customer.
This is one of the most modern and interesting types of coupons. A combined coupon can include several benefits at once: discount + cashback, promo code + free shipping, discount + gift, etc.
Such coupons create a feeling of maximum value, which is why they are used in special offers, new product launches, partner collaborations, or premium loyalty programs.
Combined coupons are often used in large marketing campaigns when there is a need to stand out from competitors and create a “wow effect.” Buyers, in turn, feel that they gain benefits on several levels at once — and this motivates them to act faster.
The world of coupons is much broader than it may seem at first glance. Discount coupons, promo codes, cashback offers, free shipping, gift certificates, and combined coupons — each of these tools plays its own role and fits different purchase scenarios.
The better the buyer understands the differences between coupon types, the more they can save. And businesses, in turn, gain the ability to communicate more effectively with customers, stimulate sales, and build loyalty.
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