Forum Moderators: buckworks
Have any of you ever used a rebate to drive sales on your site? If so, how did it work and how many people actually sent the rebate in?
Have any of you ever used a rebate to drive sales on your site?
No, I think most savvy online shoppers are too fickle to fool with rebates. I think their value will diminish even more as shopping search evolves.
However, I would assume online shoppers are going to be wondering why they have to send you something by mail and why they can't just email you the rebate or even better, have it be automatic. It is usually a manufacturers rebate, not a retailer one. The logistics might not make as much sense online. Also, most customers don't get why retailers offer mail in rebates, and are oblivious to the fact that they know a lot of customers will never use it.
This is something off the top of my head here, but if you do use a mail in rebate and have them print something off, make it so they have to cut it out and so it's the size of a regular coupon or a bit smaller (not tiny). This makes it a little more work for them and increases the chance they might lose it! :-P
... a little bit of my devilish marketing side coming out there.
mktman
:-P just off the top of my head again, havn't really thought this through much.......
It just seems that people might think they're being scammed. Older non-web savvy people have enough hurddles when it comes to eshopping.
It's a good idea no doubt.
Try it and find out. Please be sure you report back with the results.
A line line through a 'regular price' and then the sale price in red font seems to work well on one of my sites with a similar demographic.
Customers like simple things best.
However, I would assume online shoppers are going to be wondering why they have to send you something by mail and why they can't just email you the rebate or even better, have it be automatic. It is usually a manufacturers rebate, not a retailer one. The logistics might not make as much sense online. Also, most customers don't get why retailers offer mail in rebates, and are oblivious to the fact that they know a lot of customers will never use it.
Dell does it, I think rather successfully, in their online site. You might want to look at how they position it. It seems to work out nicely for them.
MQ
It really gets my goat when there is no choice but to buy a product that is over priced and comes with a bunch of dumb rebates.
The US electronics market is now full of rebate and incentive schemes. Anyone that can sell at the equivalent price without the rebates, coupons, incentives, moneyback at checkout type schemes will get my business.
Sell at the equivalent price (or close to it) without the rebate schemes and your prospective customers will love you for it :)
MQ
It is a con...plain and simple!
The suppliers know that a decent percentage of people don't request the rebates. Therefore they increase margin among that percentage of the customer base.
For those that do request the rebates they still have your money for 6 to 12 weeks before they have to give it back....another dubious method of increasing profitability.
It is all just the latest scam, a progression of buying insurance for what we are sold as ultra reliable in the first place......just another way to add margin in a competitive market place.
I'm certain a large percentage of the public hate these types of schemes. They are very basic marketing ploys that insult the intelligence of the consumer.
The consumer is NOT stupid....treat them fairly, don't cause them aggravation, don't try cheap cons on them, and in return they will respect and buy from you.
I don't won't 6 months of free AOL or MSN with a new PC, I don't want to have to mail in $500 worth of rebates, I don't want thrown in gizmos that I am actually paying for....I just want a reasonable and simple price for a straightforward product.
I did notice that when I purchased my Tivo system yesterday that BestBuy didn't even attempt to sell me the extended warranty....that is progress.....unfortunately they gave me $150 worth of mail in rebates instead!
Yes, I will be mailing them in.....but, I would have bought from anywhere else if they offered a similar, or tad higher, price without the mail in rebates.
The KISS principle needs to come back into marketing. People like simple.....deploy it and they trust you....try something else and you look much like a shady car dealer.
Rebates aren't "cons" Percentages. And they've been around for a long time. I think your views are a bit extreme and don't necessarily reflect the views of the majority of consumers.
Some people, especially older folks, like rebates and feel that they're earning their money back.
The fact that some people don't take the few minutes to send the rebates in, means the blame is on THEM!
Add-on and warranty sales may be annoying but they're obviously successful programs.
I do hate when the sales person or cashier, in trying to sell the warranty wont take NO for an answer. I usually end up making a scene and embarrasing my wife.
Yes, I will be mailing them in.....but, I would have bought from anywhere else if they offered a similar, or tad higher, price without the mail in rebates.
And therein lies the beauty of rebates. Price can be effectively lowered for the benefit of the price sensitive, without having to leave a bunch of money on the table to be taken by those that are not.
Rebates are such an old tool that I would imagine the vast majority of customers understand that they have to mail them in to reap the savings. Furthermore, they'll have to wait some number of weeks or months. Buying a product with a rebate is a choice that a consumer makes based on all of them available options.
Would they work well on the web? They might work if the retailer selling the goods isn't the manufacturer. If you bought said Tivo through an online retailer and they sent you a mail-in rebate to the manufacturer, the net effect is the same.
Would be a little stranger if you were buying an item direct from the manufacturer and they offered a rebate you could mail in later.
That said, rebates *are* used to a fair degree in the wholesale/drop ship arena. Manufacturers will often rebate you points on past purchases if you cross certain sales volume threshholds.
I think people have rebate fatique.
Thanks Brett. I haven't been to a store in months (another great marriage benefit).
I did however get an x-mas gift (from my dad) that had a rebate sticker stuck to the box. I offered to give him the rebate and he said that the rebate was applied while checking out.
The end of rebates must be near!
I guess rebates probably don't drum up any ebusiness sales.
The bottom line is, filling out the rebate form and mailing it in and waiting for the money is a pain. NOT filling out the form leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Either way you end up with a ticked-off customer. I can't believe it's a good longterm strategy.
For example a customer buys a $50 item and earns 50 rewards points. Each point is worth a 5 cent discount on the next order. When they return and buy something else, when they go to checkout, it states that they have 50 rewards points available. They select to use all 50 and receive a $2.50 discount. If they don't select to use them, then the rewards points from both order are added together and available to be used on the next order.
We have quite a few customers who will place several orders, accumulate points till they get enough to buy something for free. However, rewars points can only be applied against merchandise, they still have to pay the shipping costs and taxes.
But anyway, Dell is using the ideas I had previously in this post, so I can't be too far out. And the other posters are correct, it is a money maker for the stores no matter if the consumer mails it in or not. They either get the money for a couple of weeks (to invest, I'm sure) or get a higher margin because it's never sent in. They also get higher sales out of it, because consumers who want that laptop they can't afford can talk themselves into it after doing some rebate math.
For those that wish it was simpler and could just get a simple sales price, you'll have to go look for it elsewhere. The bean counters have figured out that from a macro profitability stand point, they'll make more money making you jump through hoops.
