It used to be that nothing was ever really free, but with the current state of the economy, many companies are giving away a lot of freebies in the hopes of stirring up more business. Although it does technically cost the companies money, consumers are benefiting from free actually meaning free.

 

 

Consumers have been very cautious lately, and being in a recession definitely gives the consumer the upper hand. Businesses are struggling, and are realizing they have to pull out extra stops now to try to win consumers over. In what appears to be a brazen move, a lot of companies are offering more free trials, offers, and items, often giving away literally hundreds of thousands dollars worth of merchandise (if not more) in hopes that people will choose them over their competition. Starbucks recently offered a free cup of coffee, and in a similar move here in Chicago, McDonalds will be offering a free 8 oz latte, no purchase necessary. The free 'giveaways' are to basically set the hook, then the hope is you'll come back for more. This concept has been used in the black market, and now, with people trying to stretch their dollar further and save more, it's becoming more apparent throughout legitimate businesses. Online, you will still see those offers of 'get a free $500 giftcard from XXX company', and those are still not reliable, as you need to sign up for a LOT of different offers, and it's dependent on the website owner getting paid before you get your proverbial 'cut', so caution still needs to be exercised.

 

 

Nowadays, with the economy the way it is and consumers being more restrained with their income, it's understandable that companies are going to whatever means necessary to get customers. Now, if that happens to be seeing more and more free things coming my way, I'm all for it... and I just might stick with those companies that do give away freebies, but that depends on if they satisfy my needs and wants; after all, not all the best things in life are free, but the price can't be beat!

 

 

This rave written by Joe Rosendorf Jr.  This is merely an opinion based on personal experiences, and is intended to inform based on those experiences.