Consumers these days are always on the hunt for deals that allow them to buy products at discounted rates. This is where coupon extensions often come in handy for them. A large number of online shoppers utilize these extensions for saving money. Because of this, more and more e-Commerce merchants have started offering coupon extensions, making them a vital part of their marketing strategy. 

While coupon extensions do have advantages, they also have certain problems that you may not know about and that is precisely what we will talk about in this piece. 

Coupon Browser Extensions- What are they?

At their core, coupon extensions are essentially browser extensions used by online shoppers for finding and applying coupon codes. These codes offer them discounted rates and other benefits at checkout. More than eighty percent of shoppers use coupons to get the best possible deals online. 

Out of these shoppers, more than seventeen percent of them use coupon browser extensions to make their search easy. It is also worth noting that over fifty percent shoppers prefer getting discounts and coupons on their smart phones. 

Coupons are also helpful for e-commerce merchants as they help with converting leads, improving their profitability in the process. Rakuten, Capital One Shopping, Honey and other couple extension services capture more than eighty percent of the market share. 

While these extensions may help merchants improve their business, they sometimes do more harm than good. Let us find out how.

How Coupon Extensions May be Doing Harm

Here is a list of reasons that show why coupon extensions may not be as great as you initially thought:

People often Use them to compare Prices

Most coupon browser extensions that provide coupon codes and discounts also have price comparison features. This means that visitors can use the tool to compare a store’s prices with their competitor’s prices. So, if a customer visits your website and is redirected to another one because of the extension, your business may lose them. 

These Extensions May Hurt Your Profitability

Coupon extensions provide shoppers with discounts when they are about to purchase the items they chose. Instead of inviting shoppers to your e-commerce store, these extensions just automatically add codes when customers are finalizing their purchase on the checkout page. This essentially means that the browser is likely giving customers discounts for an item that you would have sold regardless. 

More often than not coupon extensions utilize cookie stuffing tactics for earning commission. For instance, once a shopper is about to check out and applies a code, the extension will drop a cookie, taking credit for the shopping session in the process. 

This essentially means that while your customer may find you through affiliate channels like email or social media, the extension will end up claiming a commission. This will skew your data and your money will end up going to the wrong affiliates. Remember, if a buyer’s purchase intent is high, it does not necessarily mean that they are looking for discounts. This means that the store pays commissions for unsolicited customer discounts and coupon codes. 

Unauthorized Usage of Coupon

The last thing any store wants is to hand out and overpay unearned discounts from coupon affiliate marketing programs. Extensions usually get coupon codes from sites whenever people using extensions type in codes manually at checkout. Then, all codes are cataloged and offered to other shoppers. This means that people who have not earned coupons through newsletter subscription, email and whatnot will also be able to use them.

Is it Possible for Ecommerce Brands to manage their Coupon Extensions?

Fortunately, e-commerce brands can manage their extensions with the help of a few lengthy processes. The first thing to do would be to ask extensions to remove their codes from your website. Alternatively, creating coupons that have short life spans could also be helpful. However, consumers may get frustrated by expired coupons and may end up chances of abandoning their cart.

E-commerce stores should have the freedom of blocking and monitoring selected coupon extensions while allowing others. This is where Conversion Guard can come in handy and prevent coupon extensions from applying discount codes on your site. Conversion Guard’s Atlas can eliminate browser plugins and recognizes when customers are using coupon extensions, preventing them from interfering with the online experience.  

Here is how conversion guard’s extension management capabilities can help e-commerce stores:

• It prevents them from paying commissions for any unauthorized coupon, increasing the store’s bottom line in the process
• Prevents price comparisons from redirecting customers to your competitor
• Safeguards your profit margins by ensuring you don’t have to pay unfair commissions