A voucher and a coupon could appear similar in nature as they are provided as a promotion stunt, but there are few differences if we consider it. The way they both are used, the purpose of issuing, association, etc. We have come up with a list of Differences Between vouchers and Coupons for you to have a look at.
Voucher
A Voucher works as a bond that we can redeem. It has some monetary value and can only be spent on specific items for specific reasons. For example, vouchers for guest houses, travel agencies, restaurants, etc. A voucher means that the person has already paid for the service he is asking for, and the voucher work as a receipt of payment and guarantee of the service that needs to be provided.
Coupon
Coupons are issued by a particular agency, manufacturers, retailers, or sellers, etc. . It is a form of promotion as they cannot be redeemed without making some purchase. The coupons are distributed through envelopes, magazines, newspapers, shopping malls, stores, cell phones, social media, etc. . Coupons are made for one particular service for customers who might not come to use that service otherwise. Coupons help customers avail of some discount when they purchase from a certain retailer or seller etc.
Comparative Differences Between Voucher and Coupon
Normally there are very minute differences between a coupon and a voucher. In some places, this difference can be ignored, but in others, you need to know the difference very keenly, as we have described below. Make sure to go through the whole article to have a better understanding of the subject.
Bulk Generation
Coupons work based on access code policy. Every coupon you redeem should have a different code, and the Voucher need not have the access codes. This makes it easy for vouchers to be generated or produced in bulk.
For example, if a company wishes to give vouchers to their employees for a holiday and the company is large. It would be to give everyone a different code. Another example could be that you are a coaching centre, and you want to provide disadvantaged kids with free course vouchers. Bulk generation again will be tricky here. In such cases, a Voucher works better.
Here Voucher works like a coupon without a code or the same code for every coupon.
But if you want services rendered to be the customers exclusive, like different discounts to different customers, then you can use the coupon code method. Let say that you want the student to have access to three different courses. A voucher will give him access to all at once, and you will only need one Voucher to be made. Trying that with a coupon will need three different coupons on three transactions differently, and they need to be made with different codes, too, for that matter.
Coupon in the above case will give the student a choice to pick his course, but with a voucher, that would not be possible.
Product Access and Association
Like the bulk generation, product access and association for both vouchers and coupons are different. Vouchers can provide access to multiple courses and memberships with only one transaction, but with coupons, you can only have one at a time. If you are given access to 5 or 10 courses, you have to apply coupon 5 or 10 times respectively.
For example, if you are given access to five courses, you may have a voucher giving you access to all 5 courses on redemption. Enter the Voucher once, and redeem all courses at once.
If you are given coupons for the courses, then you will have to out 5 times to redeem those courses one by one. You cannot access all 5 at once.
Similarly, if you are buying online or offline with coupons, you will need to use those coupons one by one at a time, no matter how much you buy after the minimum required purchase limit.
Redemption
Vouchers can be redeemed if they are first being enabled by the issuer or the provider on the dashboard or account of the consumer. The coupon can be redeemed right before checkout by the customer on the checkout window.
Sales and Orders
Vouchers do not necessarily require payment, and they can be redeemed without the purchase, so need for sales and generation. On the other hand, coupons are redeemed only when they are placed, which means the business, sale, and Coupons are made this way only to generate or promote sales.
Conclusion
Though we have seen a lot of difference Between vouchers and Coupons, still they are used interchangeably in the market or their names at least. Some may also call Voucher a synonym of Coupon and Coupon a synonym of the Voucher. Though you have already seen some subtle changes, so make sure to keep them in mind when you get one of them.
