subject: EzSaver An Example of Rewards Programs That Can Save Consumers Money [print this page] EzSaver An Example of Rewards Programs That Can Save Consumers Money
Consumers have benefited greatly from the web, especially with the arrival of rewards programs such as EzSaver and the others that followed. While it goes without saying that as a smart consumer, it's still important to do your homework and make sure you pick the program that's right for you, the results can be impressive. I tend to focus on programs that help me to save money on my day to day purchases like groceries, drug store purchases and gas for the car, but other people I know have signed up for ones that net them considerable savings on big ticket items like vacations. When my friends, the Millers, are off on their yearly cruise and everyone else is wondering how they can afford such extravagant vacations every year, I know the reason. Discounted cruises are a perk offered by the membership program they joined.
When I mention that the web has been a tremendous benefit to consumers in terms of membership and rewards programs, I'm not exaggerating. The concept of a membership-only rewards program is hardly new; however in the pre-Internet era, people often found them restrictive and inconvenient. Your membership meant you had to shop by mail through an approved catalogue (that was updated every few months), or through an approved warehouse. It was restrictive. While some diehards joined, I certainly wasn't one of them. However, the web changed everything and with the arrival of programs like EzSaver that were optimized to take advantage of this new medium, rewards programs started to generate mass appeal.
A printed catalogue is stale and out of date almost the moment that it's mailed out. The web allows membership programs to inform people of current offers as they become available. When you have a membership to any of the better rewards program, you can log onto their site any time you wish and not only browse through current offers and new retailers participating in the program, but you can read forums where other members post their questions or exchange ideas. The process has become much more interactive.
I belong to several rewards programs, including EzSaver, and I feel that I get the most out of my memberships because of the sense of community I feel. I'm not just a name on a mailing list, I belong -almost like a club. And while I enjoy the benefit of saving money through the year as I'm shopping, I also like the idea of logging on now and then to see a tip sent in by another member, or a story about how they made the most of their membership.
