We Accept Competitor Coupons:
Retailers who are pressed to compete with promotions from competitors may believe they need to accept competitor coupons to keep their shoppers loyal. If you see a spike in mail or digital couponing from a competitor, carefully track customer transactions to see if your customer counts are declining.
If you choose to accept competitor coupons, remember that it is rare to gain new shoppers with this strategy. Instead, it is primarily defensive to prevent your current shoppers from shopping a competitor.
If you have a competitor who regularly employs direct mail, email or other non-public offers to its best customers, it is still possible to entice those customers to try your store. This can be especially effective if you have a more convenient location or better delivery service than the competitor. Often, competitors stay in business for years and seem to do little to no advertising. What you may not see is a targeted direct mail or email campaign that keeps customers engaged with limited offers.
Advertise that you will accept competitive coupons to lure your competition’s best customers to try your stores. The main risk is that you are opening yourself up to an unknown level of activity. Many stores limit their exposure by excluding e-commerce retailers or limiting the offer (“Limit one competitive coupon per customer.”)
Just remember that in employing this strategy, you give your competition control over your promotional discounts. Monitor it carefully to prevent unpredicted profit erosion in your margins.