The 9 best ways to find codes (or get discounts) when a store rarely or never has coupon codes

At SimplyCodes, we pride ourselves on having the very best coupon code database in the world.

But let’s talk about what happens in those painful cases where we don’t have a code for a store where you’re shopping. 

Fortunately, if you use the right shopping strategies and know how to find promo codes that are more obscure, you can still save money and get the stuff you want at a discounted rate. This guide unveils nine clever strategies to secure discounts, even when traditional coupons are off the table.

How to get discounts at a store rarely or never has coupon codes

In the last decade, coupons have undergone a significant digital transformation because of the consumer shift in preference towards online shopping and the global growth of eCommerce. 

In our roundup of coupon discount stats, we found 94% of American shoppers say they search for coupons or offers when they shop online. 94%! That’s why coupon codes remain one of the best and most popular marketing tools. However, coupons are not the only way to source discounts on goods and services, even though coupon codes often offer the best discounts.

1. Buy discounted gift cards

Discounted gift cards are one of the best money-saving tools you can use when a store never has codes. Often you can buy discounted gift cards individually or in bulk. Even if you only save a few dollars per gift card you purchase, these savings can add up and allow you to get more for your money. 

For example, if the normal retail price for a gift card is $100, you can purchase this same gift card at a discounted price of $85 but still spend the $100 total. So that’s like getting a 15% coupon code from a store, even if they don’t specifically have that coupon. (And if they do have a coupon and you’re using a discounted gift card as well, now you’re into the ultra-lucrative world of coupon stacking.)

There are numerous places to source discounted gift cards, but it’s important that you buy them from a legitimate and trustworthy site (with how many scam sites there are these days you can never be too safe). Usually, we have found the best way to establish this is by checking reviews of the site and its website trust rating. 

A few stand out among the many places where you can purchase discounted gift cards, in particular Raise and Gift Card Granny. Out of this pair, Raise is worth a first look-see (yes, that’s right, I said a “look-see,” I am a 1930s dust bowl traveling salesman at heart) as they usually offer coupon codes on their already discounted cards. 

2. Sign-up for a loyalty program

You’re likely already aware that many credit card companies and airlines offer loyalty or rewards programs. Although there are many different types of rewards or loyalty programs, the most commonly used is a points system. 

Essentially, each time you buy products from a store, you will earn rewards points, and these points will let you gain discounts later on after you have accrued enough of them. If there are certain products that you tend to purchase often from a specific store, it might be time to determine if the store has a loyalty or rewards program. After all, why not save money on the items you frequently buy if you can?

Your best method for finding out whether a store has a loyalty program is to check our loyalty program search engine — it’s constantly updated with deals for pretty much every store out there. You can find out if a retailer has a rewards program by asking in-store, perusing the company website, or looking for pop-up messages on their page. Urban Outfitters, Old Navy, Kohl's, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Menards offer some of the best retail store loyalty programs in the U.S.

Plus, sometimes once you sign up for a loyalty program, the retailer could give you additional discounts.

3. Shop deals on the right day 

Choosing to shop on a specific day when there are deals and discounts can save you plenty of money in the short and long term. Certain stores will have sales on certain days of the week and at certain times of the year. Usually, Thursday evening, six weeks into a season, and at the end of a season are when sales occur. However, these rough times vary from industry to industry; for instance, if you are looking for discounted airline tickets, Sunday is usually the best day to buy them. 

In addition to daily deals, there are also specific days of the year when you can buy massively- discounted items from various stores. Always hit your favorite low-coupon stores on days like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Amazon Prime Day, Green Monday, and major holidays to see if there are rare deals. 

4. Check for special military, teacher, or student discounts

There are many store discounts that are specifically targeted towards certain groups of people who deserve every discount we can give them. If you’re in the military, a teacher, first responder, or student, you could qualify for several different discounts at certain participating stores. 

You’ll generally need to prove that you belong to one of these groups by showing your military ID, student ID, or other types of identification documentation. Also, remember to check which stores qualify for these discounts before you shop there. 

It can be tricky to figure out whether a store offers a discount for your particular group. Often you’ll need to poke around on the store’s website, or even ask in their online chat. We also do have a tool on our sister site Knoji that can help you — we’ve built out search engines where you can search basically any business and instantly find out if they’ll give you the discount you deserve. (Here are the search engines to find military discounts, teacher discounts, student discounts, senior discounts, and frontline worker/first responder discounts.)

5. Try common coupon code phrases

We’re not saying this will always work — but if you really want to find a coupon code and you’re willing to put in the leg work (err… hand work?), it’s worth a try. We put together this tool that features the most common coupon phrases — you can even search for a store to see what common phrases they’ve used in the past. And then, you can try those out; who knows, maybe they’ve got an unadvertised code like 10OFF that will work for you.

6. Use credit card points or cashback

You could actually be earning a significant amount of cashback, points, or miles depending on the type of credit card you have. So while you won’t be saving money on your purchase at the moment as you would with a coupon, you will ultimately get some money (or points) back down the road. 

If you have a credit card that offers cashback rewards, you will earn a specified percentage of cashback on each eligible purchase you make with your credit card. For example, if you made a $50 purchase, you would earn $1 for your rewards balance. You can deposit the funds into your bank account via a direct deposit when you have accrued enough cashback points. 

Additionally, some credit cards will have flat-rate cashback rewards on all purchases. In contrast, others will have higher cashback rewards for general purchases but lower cashback rewards for groceries. 

If you have a points system with your credit card, you will typically be rewarded a fixed amount of points per dollar you spend. Usually, the redemption conversion is a 1:1 ratio. Often you can use these points to buy gift cards, the latest tech items, or other qualifying goods. 

7. Abandon your online shopping cart

Via: Magemail.

One of the easiest passive ways to obtain a coupon code when a store never has codes is by abandoning your shopping cart. When you abandon your cart, you’ll find some retailers will offer you discounts in the form of coupon codes. 

Often they will offer some percent off the items in your cart (or maybe free shipping or a free gift). Usually, the coupon code will be emailed to you within a few days of abandoning your cart. 

So if you’re patient, you will end up saving money. However, not all stores will do this, so it’s a good idea to keep track of the ones that do. Also, make sure you have an account with the store (or you’ve entered your email during the early parts of checkout) before you abandon your cart, so the store knows where to email your discount.

8. Be aware of dynamic pricing

Dynamic pricing is when retailers increase the prices of certain online goods based on your ZIP code, the device you’re using, and/or your search history. Although it might seem sneaky and maybe even illegal, it is actually (mostly) a legal marketing tool. 

There are many different dynamic pricing strategies that have become increasingly sophisticated and popular in recent years. The one we spoke of above is just one of them. Initially, dynamic pricing was used by airlines, cruises, and hotels to adjust prices dynamically. However, with the progression of eCommerce and the internet, dynamic pricing is being used more frequently. 

Numerous dynamic pricing strategies have been adopted across multiple industries. For example, retailers like Target, Amazon, and Walmart have already incorporated dynamic pricing into their strategies. Since these stores have shown immense success, others like Bed Bath & Beyond are looking to integrate these practices into their business models to boost declining sales.

We thought it would be a grand idea to give a real-world example by having a look at how Amazon is using dynamic pricing. Amazon Books, which are Amazon’s in-person book stores in various major U.S. cities, integrates dynamic pricing by having no price tags. When buying a book from Amazon Books, you need to use your phone to scan the product, or you need to use an in-store kiosk to check its price. By doing this, Amazon effectively offers different prices customer-to-customer. So the price you receive is different from what someone else does. 

Fortunately, there are ways you can avoid online dynamic pricing. For example, you could try using someone else’s computer to buy a product online, but this can become inconvenient. 

The better option to get better discounts is to clear your browser history and your computer’s cookies and sign out of all your social media accounts. You will also need to switch to private browsing, which is commonly known as incognito mode, or you can opt to use a VPN when shopping online. 

9. Subscribe to brands’ newsletters

Getting coupon codes in email is a time-tested technique and one that’s always worth trying, especially for stores that rarely publish promo codes. In some instances, retailers will reward you immediately for subscribing to their newsletter with a single-use coupon code. In other instances, you may find yourself playing the long game and waiting for an email to eventually come through when the rare day arrives that they offer a code.

As you want for a code, by becoming a part of the store’s newsletter mailing list, you will be kept up to date on all deals and have access to exclusive shopping offers. Often if you’re signed up for the retailer’s newsletter, you will be one of only a few who know about flash sales, codes, deals, and other discounts. 

However, signing up for multiple newsletters at various stores can clutter your inbox, which can be incredibly frustrating and cause you to miss out on exclusive deals. That’s why it’s an excellent idea to have a separate email that you use to sign up to store newsletters. All your shopping discounts will be in one place while your main email remains clutter-free. It’s a win-win situation. 

The “never has coupon codes” discount code hunting guide: Conclusions and takeaways

It pains all of us at SimplyCodes when a store rarely or never offers coupon codes, but some go that route. Fortunately, not all is lost — while finding promo codes or getting discounts can be trickier, it isn’t impossible.

Here are the techniques we recommend as you hunt for promo codes on sites that are tight with promo codes:

• Buy discounted gift cards. Some gift card sites will offer discounted rates, or their own coupon codes, on gift cards for a wide variety of other stores.

• Sign up for a loyalty program. You can get rewards and special deals when you join a store’s loyalty or rewards program.

• Shop on the right days. Always check sites on the major shopping holidays to see potentially larger-than-normal discounts.

• Check for military, senior, and other discounts. Many stores will offer discounts to groups like members of the military, seniors, teachers, and others.

• Try common coupon code phrases. Common coupon code phrases are a good shot-in-the-dark as you hunt for unpublished deals.

• Use credit card points or cashback. Even if a store won’t offer you deals or discounts, you may be able to work some thanks to your credit card.

• Abandon your cart. When you abandon a shopping cart, sometimes the store will email you a discount to try to incentivize you to come back.

• Avoid dynamic pricing. Some stores change prices based on your geographic location or history. Use an anonymous browser and VPN to get around those prices.

• Subscribe to brands’ newsletters. Email newsletters are a strong way to get discounts, including single-use coupon codes.

Saved money with any of these tips? Continue reading our discounting guides on our helpful content blog, and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter for regular coupon content!