Discount codes are known for being hidden away in some of the darkest corners avoiding your view, but they can save you a pretty penny. The best thing to do is sign up for brand newsletters, which often contain the hidden deals.. A 2022 study showed that newsletter subscriber-only coupons, which save you between 20% and up to half off select items are used by nearly two out of every five brands. These are usually codes that you enter at the checkout to get a discount but can sometimes give substantial discounts, like 50% off or more. Known as secret promo code club newsletters coded above boards.
Websites like social media are equally good sources of hidden discount codes. Brands often release time-sensitive codes via things like Instagram Stories, Twitter or Facebook —especially in instances where they are rewarding their most engaged followers. For example, in the 2023 Singles’ Day sales said it distributed some discount code exclusive only for social media users at recently launched on regular intervals. You can do this by following your favorite brands and turning on notifications so you hear about these deals right away.
Loyalty programs are another big one that can reveal secret discount codes. Some companies encourage repeat purchases through unadvertised members-only codes. For instance, Retail retailers such as Sephora and H&M offer privileged pricing — anywhere from 10% to a whopping 30% off for their loyalty members. According to a 2023 study, loyalty program members end up saving an additional 25% more than non-members as there are several covert savings that come in handy when becoming part of these programs.
For hidden promo codes, your best bet is to hit up the corners of deal-scouring online forums & communities (like Reddit's r/deals), or dedicated sites like Slickdeals When customers find codes through newsletters, social media or acquired on their personal financials the code is shared with other from at that community and often times you will not found this type of discount available anywhere else widespread. The study showed that users who actively use these have about 30-35% more savings compared to those shoppers accessing codes not readily available in common coupon sites.
Discount codes for browser extensions like Honey and Capital One Shopping also help tremendously to find discounted prices. These are booked with a money-saving internet tool that searches for appropriate codes when you check out, revealing bargains which is not possible to find from the regular search engine. This year, these extensions saved users about $100 million in total (in 2022 ~$300M), showcasing the power of automatic solutions for rooting out unadvertised discounts.
Another approach? Reaching out to customer service directly. Live chat on most e-commerce websites can provide discount codes, especially if you hint that it's the only thing holding you back from completing a purchase or are one click away from leaving without spending. This is a tactic within “exit-intent” marketing and 30% of shoppers that requested discounts in live chat were given codes for up to 15% savings, per an industry report from 2022.
There are methods to optimize these that few people bother with, but if you just put in a little bit of extra work every time they can save large amounts over and over again using hidden discount codes. You can do this by subscribing to newsletters, an active social media presence alerts around 90% of the online buyers with latest deals and discounts that are actually meant for you (loyalty programs), extensive customer community forums etc. So in a nutshell shopping is mostly affordable when it remains under radar.