Delayed discounting

What is delayed discounting?

What are the benefits of delayed discounting?

• Incentivizing repeat purchases: Delayed offers can turn one-time customers into regular shoppers — and ideally loyal customers. The more your customers interact with your business, the more you have the opportunity to create value for them. 

• Encouraging FOMO: Adding expiration dates to delayed discounts stimulates fear of missing out (FOMO), encouraging customers to complete their next purchase as soon as possible. 

• Managing the campaign budget: Delayed discounts are only accessible after the first purchase. As one-time shoppers don’t have access to delayed offers, you have more control and visibility over the budget of your campaigns. 

• Reducing customer acquisition cost: Reducing the climbing cost of onboarding new customers is a top priority for many businesses. Delayed discounts boost the engagement of first-time shoppers, enabling you to focus more on customer retention and activation.

• Creating a sense of exclusivity: Delayed discounts can be the first step of building effective and long-term relationships with your customers. You can deepen these relationships with more exclusive and personalized offers during the subsequent stages of the customer journey.

What are some real-life examples of delayed discounting?

• Amazon and Grubhub: Amazon Prime members had the opportunity to take 20% off their next Grubhub orders of $20 or more. The offer was time-limited, encouraging members to activate their Grubhub+ through Amazon and use the discount ASAP.

• Deliveroo: British online food delivery company Deliveroo gave customers the chance to unlock £5, £7 and £10 credit if they spend £30 on their next three orders. The promotion was part of Deliveroo’s New Year Saver campaign.

• Domino’s: Michigan-based multinational pizza restaurant Domino’s selected delayed discounts as a reward for using their gamified app called Mind Ordering. Users could choose the “Try for Fun” option and receive a 20% off coupon to use on their next online menu-price order.