Why do students get discount ?

[sparkythecat]

The cinema thread got me thinking, why do retailers and service providers offer discounts to students?
What's the motivation for the businesses involved?

[Vixpy1]

Because they are poor. ahem

[matc]

Because they have no money and loads of spare time.....

[BJG1]

sparkythecat said:

The cinema thread got me thinking, why do retailers and service providers offer discounts to students?
What's the motivation for the businesses involved?

To encourage them to buy things?

[D-Angle]

Quick and simple way of directly targeting the youth market, I would have thought.

[bobthemonkey]

I guess the marketing reason is to build brand loyalty at an early age.

[Vixpy1]

bobthemonkey said:

I guess the marketing reason is to build brand loyalty at an early age.

and yet i never got a discount on Readers wives when i was at school

[welshbikerduck]

Vixpy1 said:

bobthemonkey said:

I guess the marketing reason is to build brand loyalty at an early age.

and yet i never got a discount on Readers wives when i was at school

[tomTVR]

Same reason as giving OAP's and doleys discounts, i.e. they shouldnt, they havent earnt it.

[BJG1]

tomTVR said:

Same reason as giving OAP's and doleys discounts, i.e. they shouldnt, they havent earnt it.

It's got nothing to do with earning it, it isn't subsidised, it is a business decision.

[tomTVR]

BJG1 said:

tomTVR said:

Same reason as giving OAP's and doleys discounts, i.e. they shouldnt, they havent earnt it.

It's got nothing to do with earning it, it isn't subsidised, it is a business decision.

Transport is isnt it? Free buses for OAP's must be surely.

[fido]

It's called Price Discrimination in Economics .. you're targetting a market which otherwise wouldn't be contributing to your profits. The marketing reason is a valid one for products like bank accounts etc. but not for supermarkets or cinemas. Vixpy, do you have a student discount scheme?

[PurelyRetro]

matc said:

Because they have no money and loads of spare time.....

He's right you know.

[bobthemonkey]

As a student myself, the discounts are pretty pitiful in all honesty. I guess I may save £20 over a year with them, mostly on stationary from Ryman's.

Some of the larger student discounts are actually the result of specific agreements between Government or institutions and their suppliers. This is how the massive discounts available to students on software come about. For example, you can get MS Office and Vista Ultimate for £100.

[bobthemonkey]

Vixpy1 said:

bobthemonkey said:

I guess the marketing reason is to build brand loyalty at an early age.

and yet i never got a discount on Readers wives when i was at school

Wrong school then. All we got offered was Alter-boys weekly, and the staff always took that. Odd really.

[sstein]

I got a student discount on a pair of shoes without being a student. Don't know why, I think I was just bored in the shop and asked can I have a student discount while I was paying, the cashier just took off 10% without question...

Saved a tenner.

When I was at uni I never used the student discount at all either...

-

Stuart

Edited by sstein on Wednesday 24th September 23:36

[BJG1]

tomTVR said:

BJG1 said:

tomTVR said:

Same reason as giving OAP's and doleys discounts, i.e. they shouldnt, they havent earnt it.

It's got nothing to do with earning it, it isn't subsidised, it is a business decision.

Transport is isnt it? Free buses for OAP's must be surely.

Is for OAPs, don't think studnet rail cards are subsidised.

[Polarbert]

I think I've mostly used student discount at the cinema. Makes quite a big saving.


The most daft is this NUS extra bks they brought out. It cost a tenner and allowed you to get discount at places that wouldn't offer it unless you got this card.

PC World is one.

But anyway, I only generally use student discount at HMV, but since I've recently boycotted them I won't be using it anytime soon.

[robwales]

If something is discounted by a small amount, they might buy it when they otherwise would not, because it's a "good" deal, regardless of why they need it.
This one applies to everyone I guess.

Getting them while they're young.
Cheap bus passes for students makes them less likely to buy a car and learn to drive, so they will be full fee paying adults in a few years.

Also in a cinema for example, filling the empty seats with students at 25% off a ticket is better than having them empty.