With the snow piling up outside and creating a landscape reminiscent of a winter wonderland, the thought of $2 off your next purchase at J.P. Licks may not sound appealing. But fear not: less chilly local area businesses are also cutting prices and offering deals for students through the collegiate coupon books distributed on campus at the beginning of each semester.
"When the beach is out of reach," Suntique calls to you with "50 percent off Tanning & Lotion." If that's not enough sun for you, there's also Xtreme Tanning's offer of "Three tans for $3." And after all that tanning, the buy-one-sub, get-one-free deal offered at Subway through the coupon book may sound appetizing.
But despite the wide selection of discounted services nearby, the collegiate coupon books, which are offered by StudentCity.com, are often found in garbage bins or at the bottom of messy drawers rather than in students' purses or pockets.
College students aren't the only consumers who aren't taking full advantage of the savings offered through coupons. According to the Association of Coupon Professionals' May 2003 newsletter, coupon distribution volume rose by 3.4 percent in 2002, but coupon redemption value fell by 5.4 percent.
Sophomore Heather Roughton says that forgetfulness is the reason she doesn't take advantage of the deals offered in the collegiate coupon books. "Well, I see the coupon books around campus a lot, and I'll usually pick one up, but then I tend to forget about it," she said. "I don't think I've ever actually used one of the coupons from the books."
Most students discuss their usage of collegiate coupon books with the same dismissiveness as junior James Fraser, who refers to them as "the [coupons] they give out everywhere and we just take the ice cream ones and toss 'em."
According to many Tufts students, having a coupon does not necessarily make a person more likely to patronize a particular business: factors besides price influence students' purchasing decisions. For many students, the cost-benefit calculation of using a coupon includes the time spent traveling to the place offering a discount versus visiting a closer location, and the addition of any public transportation payment to this trek.
When asked if a coupon makes her more likely to support a certain business, sophomore Allie Bohm - who does not have a car on campus - said she considers exactly these factors of location and transportation before deciding whether to use a coupon or not.
"If I know where the store is and if it's convenient, [then I might use the coupon]," she said.
Another component to students' coupon-related decisions is time - something that can be scarce in the busy lives of college students. "I would [use the books] if I had the time to look through them, but I don't," Bohm said, adding that students would be more likely to use coupons if they were presented individually from businesses, rather than compiled in a book.
Examples of this advertising technique are the menus from local delivery restaurants and pizzerias, which are frequently distributed to students' mailboxes.
Students are more likely to take advantage of coupons when the service being offered at a discount is otherwise highly priced.
"I won't go to J.P. Licks without [a coupon] because the prices are ridiculous," sophomore Emily Andrews said.
But the coupon-redeeming experience is not necessarily a smooth one in all cases. Students occasionally find themselves encountering problems when attempting to use a coupon.
This was the case for Andrews: "I tried to get into a club special night [with a coupon], but couldn't," she said.
If the criteria for successful coupon advertising includes attracting a new clientele from those students willing to leaf through a booklet for a particular coupon and take the time to travel to the establishment, then perhaps hair salons are the exception to the students-don't-use-coupon-books rule. Several students, including junior Paige Cramer, said that they frequently use the collegiate coupon books when they visit hair salons.
"I've used the coupon book each time I've gotten my hair cut in Boston," Cramer said.
In general, though, students tend to disregard leafing through coupon books as a viable option for saving money - unless, of course, doing so means saving $2 on an ice cream cone.
