The life cycle of a coupon

The longer I coupon and blog the more I learn about marketing, manufacturing, advertising, and the like… And it’s fascinating to me!  If you’ve been couponing for awhile, you’ve probably picked up on things here and there and you may even know more about how the whole grocery store sales and coupon cycles work than most grocery store employees!  Here’s one tidbit for you:

Manufacturers pay stores to run promotions on their items.  Ever had a cashier or manager get mad that you’re walking out of their store with a cart full of groceries for very few pennies paid on the dollar?  They should be begging you to come back in the store again – they will be reimbursed by the manufacturer for the face value of the coupons you used, and they also likely received money from the manufacturers to promote their product, especially for the big sales!  Plus, they obviously keep any money that you spent out of pocket.  They’re doing just fine, even if you pay 75% off retail.

Jenny from Southern Savers did a great post awhile back on the life cycle of a coupon.  It’s fascinating reading if you’re at all interested in the behind-the-scenes info!