Coupon use remains strong

Observation:  An article from yesterday’s Supermarket News indicates that consumers redeemed an estimated $4.6 billion in packaged goods coupons last year, up 12.2% from 2010.  The story, citing data from Valassis, explains that 27% of coupons required multiple product purchases (up 2% from 2010), and had an average face value of $1.54.  Click here to see the full story.

Implications:   The difference between a fad and a trend is much like the difference between a wave and a tide; one comes and goes quickly, and the other stays for a longer period of time.

It would seem that coupons have found favor not just as a quickly-fading fad, but that they will be an attractive incentive to consumers for a longer period of time.  More evidence that consumers continue to reconcile their purchasing behaviors, and adapt to the new realities that exist in the wake of the Great Recession.

Mike Anderson, for the Elm Street Economics consumer trends blog. A service of The Center for Sales Strategy, Inc.