In addition to hosting the famous Thanksgiving Day parade, Macys is a well-known department store with locations throughout the United States and a website on the internet. Stores like Macys use promotional codes to recruit potential customers by offering incentives such as: (1) a discount on merchandise, (2) free shipping, or (3) offering customers free items with their purchase. These incentives often give the buyer a reason to purchase from Macys, and stores like Macys make these codes easily available through an email or customer referral. Thus, Macys promotional codes help generate revenue because they capture potential price-sensitive customers that may be inclined to make purchases elsewhere because they have a lower willingness-to-pay.

Because online shopping is a huge part of American consumerism, these promotional codes provide customers a sense of fulfillment. Price savvy customers are often on the look-out for special deals and savings, usually from the comfort of their home computer. Offering online incentives through promotional codes caters to the market of internet shoppers because these customers can realize savings without leaving the house. Also, offering a promotional code for, say, free shipping encourages a prospective buyer to purchase the item immediately or buy more items to capture additional savings. This concept is similar to coupon-clipping; however, using promotional codes is easier and a more environmentally friendly way to shop as it produces less paperwork. Finally, stores may also use promotional codes to promote loyalty – giving discounts and perks to valued customers serves as a reward and encourages them to return.

To use a promotional code, a customer enters the code upon checkout. Using free shipping as an example, the savings is applied immediately and the customer is not billed for any shipping expense. Offering promotional codes is an excellent way stores like Macys generate business as the internet is “always open”, unlike brick-and-mortar stores.