Promotion and discount hunters have a keen eye
and know that they must carefully read
the fine print of each offer
. But not everyone who comes across an "unmissable opportunity"
is trained or has the time
to take advantage of it without falling into a trap: overspending and
that benefit ends up playing against savings.
The need to support consumption and the increasingly thin pockets of Argentines have led to a proliferation in recent years of
promotions -
generally
a discount
in certain stores -
offered by banks and virtual wallets
. With the explosion of this segment, another concept was also consolidated:
the refund cap
. That kind of
purchase limit
that, many times,
goes to the detriment
of the (most promoted) discount percentage.
Patricia, an administrative employee, knows well what it is about. A few days ago, when she left work in Belgrano she remembered that on Fridays
she had a 50% discount
on fuel at the service station
on Cabildo Avenue
. She went, she filled the tank, paid $40,000, went to her house. Immediately, she forgot about it.
"15 days passed, until I saw that advertisement again that reminded me of the tempting discount on fuel that my bank and an app offers on Fridays. This time the clock was not ticking and then it occurred to me to look at the full promotion. That's when I realized of
a no minor detail that I had not seen before
: I expected a discount of $20,000, but that
promo had a limit of $8,000
So,
that initial promise of receiving 50% of the purchase in my wallet was only 20. %
", commented Patricia.
In this buyer's mistake,
there is no right to kick
. From the City's Consumer Defense they explained to
Clarín
that "you must always verify the conditions of the promotions, if the details are informed, such as refund limits, application days, etc.,
the right is complied with.
Now, when That information is not provided, or
it is hidden,
there we do receive the complaint.”
In these cases, unless the legend
"no withdrawal limit"
appears (when this is the case, the banks set it very large) you must take the focus
of the percentage that is promoted
and
put it within that limit
.
In practice it would be: if the promotion says
50% less, with a return of up to $9,000 weekly,
the interested party will be able
to spend a total of $18,000 on that purchase
. If you use all four options in a month, the total expense to take advantage of all the savings should not be more than $72,000. If, for example, you spend more than that amount, you must bear in mind that
the percentage initially promised will be reduced.
In short, the cap, that short four-letter term, is not usually a good ally when consumers are looking to make their money stretch and they must pay close attention.
Banks and wallets use them to regulate user spending. So much so that in April, despite inflation that has not yet fallen below double digits (it was 11% in March),
the reimbursement limits not only did not rise, but they fell
. Some others even
stopped being weekly and were condensed into once a month.
From the promotions segment of a banking entity they explained to
Clarín
that before the discount percentage was highly highlighted and
the limit was hidden
, a practice that was not entirely loyal. "Now the client is made aware of this limit, because
later in the satisfaction surveys
(for example)
they let you know if they felt deceived.
And the client forgives you once, twice, not once," they explained.
In the strategy of that entity they favor
"putting a smaller discount with a more attractive refund limit
, rather than a large discount with a very low refund." In its portfolio of promotions there are around 150 offers (including interest-free card installments and percentage discounts), of which "10 are the ones that get 80% of the promos."
Promos that are not used but help marketing
In many cases, promotions are not used but, according to experts, they must be had because
"the perceived value
(what customers are willing to pay for a product or service according to their appreciation of it)
is very high."
and it serves to build loyalty
.
By
For example, among the promotions that an entity has there is one in the high-income segment that is a 30% discount on hair salons on Fridays and although "it is practically not used, it has to be there," they explained. In that sense,
between 15,000 and 20,000 clients use a promo on average per month,
that is between 10 and 15% of the bank's active portfolio.
But, in addition to building customer loyalty, with these actions wallets and banks seek to
make their portfolio profitable
, because "the longer people leave their money in an account, the more profitable it becomes for the bank," they detailed.
"These discount programs for digital wallets or bank cards become very attractive in a context of falls in retail sales (12.6% last month, according to CAME) and 19% in consumption massive," added Damián Di Pace, director of Focus Market Consulting.
For the economic analyst, "banks, in addition to competing with each other, are also competing with digital wallets that seek to attract new adherents, so what is being seen is that,
at a higher level of discount, there is a lower weekly withdrawal limit
; and at a lower level of discount, the limit is higher."
It also depends on the items and the estimated volume that can be consumed in each business. For example, a virtual wallet offers 40% to buy at a wholesale supermarket, but the limit is 4,000 per week, which "forces" you to consume a maximum of $10,000 to really take advantage of it, a very low expense considering the type of purchases. what people do at the wholesaler.
A contrasting example: that same wallet has a higher limit
for purchasing at a construction and home materials store
, $10,000,
for a smaller discount of 25%.
Therefore,
accessing all these benefits requires prior "study time"
if you do not want to spend more thinking that you are going to receive a benefit that, like Patricia, never received.
S.N.