Coupons can be very helpful when you need to shop for groceries. It is a good way to save some money. It is important to know that you should be wary of coupons that require you to give out your personal information. Doing so could be unsafe!

CouponBirds reported (in July of 2022) that almost 90% of consumers used coupons in 2020 and consumers saved about $3.6 billion on consumer packaged goods thanks to coupons. More consumers now turn to digital coupons. Over 142 million US adults redeemed digital coupons in 2020.

However, according to CouponBirds, the number of coupons distributed by retailers is declining despite increasing number of coupon users. Total coupon distribution dropped 15% to 200.13 billion in 2020. The downtrend is accelerating as coupon statistics for 2019 show distribution fell 12% to 235.46 billion the previous year.

According to CouponBirds’ data, the coupon codes offered by 1,000 retailers are decreasing. In March 2022, the average coupon offered by each retailer was nearly 13. It still continued to grow to over 14 coupon codes for each website. However, after April 2022, valid coupon codes offered by those retailers began to decrease. In June, it had fallen to less than 11 coupon codes per website while in July 2022, every merchant only provides about 10 coupons to customers. The decreasing coupon codes reflect retailers are shrinking their discounts to get more profit.

Capterra reported that most consumers are willing to provide their email addresses (85%), gender (70%), and name (60%) in exchange for discounts. In addition, significant proportions are willing to hand over their birthdate (48%), occupation (43%), and home address (32%). Capterra stated that a not-significant 7% say they are not willing to provide any information in exchange for discounts.

According to TMCNET, coupon codes, discount codes, or promo codes are always free. That means giving the appropriate customer a discount to put a smile on their face. But not every store offers real coupons and some of them will provide scam coupons to hurt your benefit or even use coupons to steal your information. That is why you should always look for stores that are well-known and have a good reputation.

Consumers have a strong incentive to provide information in exchange for discounts, which is also useful for companies to analyze user data. By leveraging these valuable customer insights, businesses can increase brand awareness, enhance their reputation, and personalize future marketing campaigns.

Unfortunately, sharing personal data to get 20% off a pair of jeans, or even more expensive items like headphones or laptops, opens the door to data fraud – even if those consumers don’t seem to know it.

In short, it is not a good idea to give out your personal information in exchange for a coupon that gives you a slight discount. Shoppers should value their personal information instead of exchanging it for a coupon. Instead, find ways to obtain coupons that does not require you to hand over your personal information.

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