5 Ways Coupons Can Be Bad
via 5 Ways Coupons Can Be Bad – TheStreet.
BOSTON (TheStreet) — Your supermarket doesn’t love you. And the folks who make the pasta, peanut butter, cola and condiments you buy don’t really worry about helping your household budget.
Those who deal in coupons do so to make money, not to cut you a break. While it can make good financial sense to save a few cents here and there by clipping and downloading coupons, companies provide that service as a means to get you to spend more, and if you don’t think through your purchases using coupons can end up costing you in the long run.
Boiling it down, manufacturers have key goals when it comes to consumers — they want more of them, buying more, more frequently. Coupons allow them to maintain and build upon their market share, draw first-time buyers into the fold, ease the blow of price increases or size or quantity reductions, and push stores to offer prime shelf displays and aisle placement.
Research by NCH Marketing Services, part of the media and marketing services company Valassis(VCI_), found that shoppers saved $3.7 billion with coupons last year.
You can read the complete article here, but I have to warn you, thestreet.com website is slow and bulky.
Allen LaRose 