Local Video
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| Coupons experience retail renaissance |
By: DAVID HENKE, Staff Writer
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Posted: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:44 pm
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NORTHFIELD — Susan Harris didn’t used to clip coupons, but with her husband facing a possible layoff, bargain-hunting has become even more important.
So every week, the mother of two pores through the Sunday paper insert and advertisements for coupons or special deals. At a time when every dollar counts, Harris estimates that she saves as much as $20 a week on items like yogurt, pizza rolls and cookies through coupon redemption.
Harris, a resident of Northfield, isn’t the only one returning to the age-old tradition of coupon clipping to cut a few corners during the recession. National coupon processing company Inmar forecasted that more than 3 billion coupons will be redeemed this year by American consumers, after the company recorded a 23 percent increase in coupon usage during the first half of 2009. The trend, said Inmar Director of Marketing Matthew Tilley, is the first substantial increase in coupon usage for 15 years, after coupon redemption peaked in 1992, when 7.9 billion coupons were redeemed.
Tilley believes the economy is behind the coupon redemption renaissance.
“The primary pressure that’s on consumers today is the economy,” Tilley said. “The future is less certain, they’re losing their jobs and they ultimately need to stretch their food and other household budgets further.”
According to statistics released by Nielsen’s Homescan and cited by Tilley, food products have experienced the largest growth in terms of sales with a coupon. Breakfast foods led the charge with a 62 percent growth in units moved with a coupon, followed by a 30 percent growth in condiments. Digital coupon use has also exploded, with redemption rates leaping up by 308 percent so far this year, Tilley said.
According to Tilley and Carleton College Professor of Economics Mike Hemesath, the growth in coupon use is having a ripple effect among retailers and manufacturers, who increased their coupon distribution by 20 percent in 2009 to meet demand.
Issuing coupons, Hemesath said, helps suppliers lure thrifty customers back into the marketplace and compete for their limited spending money without having to permanently lower prices on goods.
“[Manufacturers] are seeing that this is a great way to get the consumer’s attention, that this is a great way to stand out in a crowd, particularly with branded products,” Tilley said.
All the hoopla seems logical to Dundas resident Becky Novotny, a recent convert to coupons who says she saves an average of $10 to $12 each time she goes grocery shopping.
“More people are strapped for money and are losing their jobs,” Novotny said. “You try to save as much as you can on the little things to help out with the bigger things.”
A study released at the beginning of September by the Promotion Marketing Association Coupon Council shows that consumers who spend 20 minutes per week clipping and organizing their coupons can save up to $1,000 per year on an average annual grocery bill of $5,000 or more.
The typical family, the study said, saves between $5.20 and $9.60 per week using coupons.
— David Henke covers city, business and youth issues. He can be reached at dhenke@northfieldnews.com or 645-1100. |
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