Bounce Back Coupons: Turning One Purchase Into the Next
Running any business isn’t just about getting customers through the door or onto your website, it’s about getting them to come back again and again. One of the simplest and most effective tools for doing that is the bounce back coupon.
Bounce back coupons reward customers for a purchase they just made by giving them an incentive to return in the near future. They’re easy to implement, flexible, and especially powerful for local retail stores that thrive on repeat visits.
Let’s break down what bounce back coupons are, how you can use them, and the types of offers that work best.
What Is a Bounce Back Coupon?
A bounce back coupon is a discount or offer given to a customer after they complete a purchase, designed to encourage their next visit.
Unlike traditional coupons that try to bring in new customers, bounce back coupons focus on customers who already chose your store. They’re a follow-up incentive, essentially saying, “Thanks for shopping with us. Here’s a reason to come back soon.”
For every business, especially game and hobby stores, where repeat business and community engagement are a key to success, this can be a powerful customer retention tool in your toolbox of marketing.
How You Can Give Out Bounce Back Coupons
Bounce back coupons are flexible, and you don’t need complex systems to get started.
Traditionally given with a purchase. The most common method is including a coupon with a customer’s receipt or in their bag at checkout. This works well because:
- The customer has already spent money
- The coupon feels like a bonus, not a sales pitch
- It creates a clear reason to return within a set timeframe
For example, a coupon could say something like this;
- “$5 off your next visit when you return in the next 14 days.”
- “Receive a FREE water with a purchase of any snack from the cafe.”
- “Receive 10% off any order of $10 or more within the next 7 days.”
These offers are clearly spelled out and look to get that customer back into your store within a set period of time.
Bounce back coupons are also a great fit for events. Look at special events or massively attended events such as a pre-release to entice those players to come back for your weekly events.
“Thank you for attending our super awesome pre-release event for the card game! Here is free entry into the weekly event held on this day! Good only for the following week! (Exact Date Listed)”
You can also turn it up a notch, while there may be some abuse from the regulars, the cost usually outweighs it.
“Thanks for attending our event! Bring a friend that didn’t play in this event next week and they will get free entry and you will get a booster pack/free entry/free snack.” Whatever works for you.
Instead of (or in addition to) prizes, you can give every participant a coupon usable on a future visit. This helps turn event attendance into ongoing store traffic rather than a one-time interaction. Something as simple as this;
“Thanks for visiting us today! Come back next week and receive $1 off your entry.” That customer may have been considering visiting anyway but now feel like they are going to get a special deal.
Types of Bounce Back Discounts That Work
Not all coupons need to look the same. Different types of offers can support different business goals. Are you trying to build a new product category? Are you trying to build volume sales for a specific item? Look at your larger goal and decide how you want to build your customer marketing plans with that. Shameless plug, we talk about SMART Goals here and how to break down a yearly goal here.
Here are some generic examples that usually work.
- Buy One, Get a Percentage Off the Next Purchase
- Preorder a booster box, get 25% off your pre-release entry
- Buy any board game, get 15% off your next purchase within 7 days
- Buy a miniature box, get 50% off a painting event fee in the next month
Some other coupons that are less bounce back but could be part of a special event that aligns with a bounce back coupon marketing event. A small free item can feel more exciting than a discount sometimes and using the free gift as the gateway to get a customer in and follow with a bounce back coupon is a multilayer approach. Remember the goal is to get customers in your store more then one time ever or once every quarter with the release of a card game.
- A promo card
- Dice
- Stickers
- Sample paints
- Sample miniatures
- Candy
- Keychain
These offers are especially effective when the free item ties into your community or brand and has a low cost for your store.
Don’t forget that one of the key parts of the bounce back coupon is to create urgency with a timeframe, you want to create the habit of the customer visiting your store.
- “$10 off your next purchase of $50 or more in the next 7 days!” And be sure to put the exact date on it.
- “20% off one item when you visit within 7 days”
Adding a deadline is the key. It prevents customers from forgetting about the coupon and encourages faster repeat visits. The more often you have a customer visit you the more likely you are to build a lifelong customer.
Why Bounce Back Coupons Work So Well
Bounce back coupons succeed because they target customers who already trust your store. It encourage s repeat visits in a predictable timeframe for you. You are also increasing your customer lifetime value (CLV for the true business admin readers) without deep discounts.
When used consistently, they can smooth out slow periods, boost post-event sales, and reinforce customer habits. The nature of games generally leads to a customer who follows one card game to visit once a month to once every quarter to pick up the new release. Convincing that customer that visiting more often will help build your gross sales per year while hopefully making that customer happier by showing them other products and events you sell.
Final Thoughts
Bounce back coupons are a low-effort, high-impact way to turn today’s sale into tomorrow’s visit. Whether you include them with receipts, hand them out at events, or experiment with different types of offers, they’re one of the most practical retention tools available to most businesses.
The key is consistency and clear offers. Put a reasonable time limit and track what works best for your store. Over time, every small incentive will lead to stronger customer loyalty and more predictable revenue.
If you’re already tracking sales and customer behavior, bounce back coupons are a natural next step in building smarter, more sustainable retail growth for your business.
