In general, a dollar received today is more valuable than a dollar received one year from now. We can invest the dollar we have today to earn interest so that at the end of one year we will have more than one dollar. It’s crucial to look at the value in today’s dollar of a sum of money to be received in the future. This helps us determine the desirability of investment projects. The fact that there is no payment due for the next six months PLUS free interest may drive customers to purchase products or services. Though sales may increase in the short run, the rate of bad debts could potentially increase.
Fortunately, when customers pay companies up front for a specific product or service, the monetary value of cash received would be worth more than money paid off over time in separate smaller installments. Cash received from customers now can be invested right away, giving companies additional time to make up for the discount previously given. Ultimately, the company is getting a good deal for the small monetary loss of a special offer promotion.
I would potentially use present value calculations to determine if I am really getting a good deal on my purchase: PV= [1/(1+r)^n]