Why Is Everything Cheaper Online? The Discount Gap Nobody Talks About
Uber Eats, DoorDash, foodpanda and Groupon throw coupons at you all day. Walk into the same store in person and you pay full price. That's backwards, and we think stores should flip it.
You've noticed this too
Open a delivery app and there's a deal on every screen. 20 percent off your first order. Free delivery this weekend. Buy one, get one. Open Groupon and half the restaurants in your city are on sale.
Now walk into one of those same restaurants. Stand at the counter. Ask if there's a deal.
"No, sorry."
You walked there. You saved them the delivery driver. You're standing in front of them ready to pay. And you get charged more than the person sitting on their couch.
That makes no sense.
Why it happens
The apps aren't being generous. They're buying your attention.
Delivery apps charge restaurants a commission on every order, and deal sites keep a share of the already discounted price. The discounts exist because the app wants you on the app, ordering through the app, forever. The store often pays for part of it and gets a thinner slice of a cheaper sale.
Meanwhile the in-person customer, the one who costs the store nothing extra and is literally standing in the shop, gets nothing. No coupon, no first-visit deal, no reason to come back instead of ordering.
So stores end up rewarding the most expensive kind of customer and ignoring the cheapest one.
What we think should happen
Offer before you ask for attention. Every store wants people to follow them, post about them, come back. But they ask first and give nothing. Flip it. Give the person nearby something first: a free coffee with the second one, $10 off a birthday cake, a sample. Then ask.
Make in-store deals as easy as app deals. Online, a coupon is one tap. In person, it's a paper flyer you lost or a code nobody at the counter understands. A deal in a store should be as simple as showing your phone at the counter.
Reward the people who show up. The person who walks in is your best customer. They see the shop, meet the staff, smell the bread. They're the one who becomes a regular. Give them the best deal, not the worst.
How it works on Secret World
On Secret World, stores post deals right on the map as storefront pins, seen by people close enough to walk over. A deal like "2 iced coffees for the price of 1, show this at the counter" or "$10 off any birthday cake today" shows up for people nearby, and they redeem it in person.
No app in the middle taking a cut of the sale. Stores pay one flat monthly fee and keep 100 percent of what they sell. Customers pay nothing to use it.
It's the online coupon, but for the real world, where it should have been in the first place.
If you run a store
You're already paying for discounts on delivery apps. Ask yourself: why are the people walking past your door getting a worse deal than people who never see your door? Put one offer on the map for the people nearby, and see who walks in.
FAQ
Why are there more discounts on delivery apps than in stores?
Delivery and deal apps use discounts to keep you ordering through them. They charge stores a commission or keep part of the deal price. In-store customers usually get no equivalent offer.
Why don't stores offer in-store coupons?
Mostly because there's been no easy way to get an in-store deal in front of people nearby. Paper flyers get lost and online coupons are built for online orders.
How do I find in-store deals near me?
On Secret World, local stores post deals as storefront pins on the map. You see the ones close to you and redeem them at the counter.
Does Secret World take a cut of store sales?
No. Stores pay a flat monthly fee and keep everything they sell. Customers use Secret World for free.