NEWS FLASH :: Coupons are advertising. Coupons (the placement, printing, redemption) generally comes out of a company’s marketing budget. Companies are hoping you’ll wake up Sunday morning, flip through your Sunday paper and you’ll see a coupon for $1 off a new variety of Cheerios. You think to yourself, “Wow, those Cheerios look good, I think I’ll pick some up when I go to the store today.” You’ll forget your coupon at home, but you’ll remember the Cheerios and you’ll fall in love with the new product and buy it every Sunday for the rest. of. your. life.
That’s a pretty extreme example – but that’s just to illustrate that coupons are INTENTIONAL marketing geared toward getting you to pick a specific brand or start buying a specific product. As strategic, savvy shoppers we take advantage of the promotion, without becoming brand, product or store loyal. We use the coupon in conjunction with a sale to get it at rock bottom price.
I talk about this quite a bit in my coupon classes – that coupons are advertising. It’s probably not a news flash to everyone, but I want couponers (especially those new to the game) to realize it for what it is, so you don’t fall into the marketing ploys of the sales, coupons or rebates. So often coupons can be the impetus for overconsumption – I have a coupon, so I must purchase this product. Savvy shoppers don’t fall into that trap – they use the coupon if a) they need the product b.) it’s a good deal c.) it ends up being FREE (because you can always find someone who can use it).
This post isn’t intended to make anyone feel bad (consumer or manufacturer) – it’s simple purpose is awareness. Let’s see coupons for what they are – advertising and as long as we remain strong, savvy shoppers who only buy items that we need or can use – it’s not a bad thing, it can be a great way to save.
In honor of August being the back-to-school month, I’ll be posting a different coupon question/tutorial every day for the month of August (except weekends)! Some of the posts will be really basic Coupon 101, but others will be more in depth. If you have a question you’d like me to cover, please leave a comment on this post or e-mail me!
See my other recent posts as part of this series:
August 1 – 10 for $10 – Do you have to buy 10 items to get the sale price?
August 2 – Can you use an e-coupon and a paper coupon on the same item?
August 3 – Don’t get duped by the photo on the coupon
August 4 – How many stores should you shop at each week?
August 5 – If the coupon expires 7/31/11 can you still use it on 7/31/11?
I’d love to answer any other questions you might have! Leave me a comment if you have a question you want me to cover!
rita says
if i get a raincheck for an item and my coupon expires before the product comes in, can i still use the coupon?
Amy says
Sometimes the advertising does work, even if I am aware of it, but in a win/win sort of way. Example: Emerald Nuts came out with a new “Breakfast on the Go” product awhile back. I wouldn’t typically purchase something like that, but witha coupon/sale combo one week, they were free, so I decided to try them. I really liked them and I never would have tried it if I hadn’t gotten it for free! Now I will buy them. I still won’t pay full price, but I’ll pay a “reasonable” price ($0.50-$1.00 is what I’ve found) for the product. So, Emerald got a new consumer purchasing their products and I found a new product I really like that I may never have tried if not for coupons!