Other chains, such as JCPenney, also tried to pull back on coupons and faced customer backlash. Customers were too attached to Bed Bath & Beyond’s coupons and resisted any changes to the model. In 2016, Bed Bath & Beyond began testing a membership model that for $29 a year offered a 20% discount on all purchases and free shipping.īut the membership never caught on. Critics say offering coupons is a waste of money that would be better directed toward dropping prices across the board or investing in improving products’ quality.īed Bath & Beyond tried to move away from coupons during the 2010s after they squeezed profit margins. In the marketing business, sentiment was turning away from coupons. To hell with the rest of the stuff,” Rita Little, the company’s former vice president of marketing, told the Times. “We started to realize that what customers really wanted was the darn coupon. Soon, Bed Bath & Beyond was sending out nearly a billion coupons by mail a year, according to the Times. The company tried different colors like red and yellow, but they were too harsh. Tempur Sealy to buy retailer Mattress Firm in $4 billion dealīed Bath & Beyond’s coupons took off during the 1990s. In the company’s early years - it dates to 1971 - coupons were infrequent, attached to circulars and for offers like $5 off a purchase of at least $15, according to a 2020 New York Times oral history of the coupons. “They never grew out of their coupon strategy, which is sadly what led to their current situation,” said Liu-Thompkins. Rival stores also began to offer price-match guarantees.īy then, Bed Bath & Beyond was hooked on coupons and couldn’t successfully pivot away. ‘Overreliance on the coupon’Īs online shopping grew, coupons became a less effective tool because customers could compare prices across different sites to find the lowest one. One study found customers who received coupons released feel-good oxytocin hormones and their heart rates decreased. Redeeming coupons makes shoppers feel smart - like they’ve outfoxed a brand. Once customers were inside, the company hoped they would wander around and impulse shop - buying linens, towels, pots and everything else that caught their eye. Bed Bath & Beyond used coupons to draw shoppers into its maze-like stores.
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