Campaign:
WHSmith - £5 off when you spend £15 on books
Running on:
In WHSmith stores - WHSmith Ltd
What's the big idea:
Far from being a mere printed statement of a financial
transaction, receipts are fast becoming the most direct form of
into the hand marketing. Forget mobiles - these messages are being
put in the hands of known purchasers who have an interest in your
brand and they can be used as the voucher against your next
purchase. Whoa, this could be massive! Of course they've been
around for years on Pay as you Go parking tickets, supermarkets are
using them for price guarantee promotions and now retailers in
general.
How:
I don't know if there is a minimum purchase level - none was
advertised. In fact the availability of the offer was not overtly
promoted at all apart from with the receipt. If it's any guide, I
only spent £7.50 on envelopes and they were on a deal too. The
terms and conditions are online and very generic. The most
applicable one being that you can't use the voucher on books that
are already on promotion, which in itself is probably quite
difficult to achieve.
What's on offer:
£5 off voucher
For use against a future purchase over £15 on books.
Website:
The promotion is redeemed in-store. You can however find out more
at www.whsmith.co.uk/tillvouchers
When:
Interesting one this. I made the purchase on Sat 20th. The voucher
was valid from a week Monday to cover two working weeks. So, i
couldn't just go back into the shop and buy books I had to make a
special future trip.
Any good?
It's a strong offer and they've obviously thought about the
validity period. If you used it straight after the purchase you
originally went for, you are very likely to just buy two qualifying
books and nothing else. If you wait 2 weeks you may well have a few
things on your list and will make a few extra purchases too. Or
alternativey, you may lose or forget the voucher altogether and
never go back to WHSmith again. Either way, before you throw that
receipt in the bin, check the reverse first. It might be a more
valuable piece of paper than it first appeared!