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GROCERY
The coupon’s not dead yet


Andersen Ross/Getty Images


An American-born shopping strategy may be in the midst of a mini comeback. The days of couponing so hard that you get on a TLC show are over, but post-pandemic grocery inflation has ushered in a new wave of deal fiends.

Although coupon use plummeted to an all-time low in 2022:Redemptions ticked up in 2023 and 2024, mostly driven by digital offers rather than traditional newspaper inserts, according to Inmar Intelligence.
More than 25% of US adults are using more coupons because of the state of the economy, up from 18% in mid-2021, according to a 2024 survey by the National Retail Federation.

Rebound: In September, Kroger reported a “lift” in the number of products sold after the grocery chain reintroduced paper coupons. Bargain shoppers also logged a win in August, when Bed Bath & Beyond Home opened its first store under its new banner and brought back its legendary 20% coupon. This time around, though, it can’t be used with other offers.
The deals aren’t what they used to be

Gone is the era of combining enough coupons to save 75% at checkout (or even be owed money by the store):Walmart, ShopRite, and Target don’t let shoppers use more than four of the same paper coupon in one day anymore.
Many retailers have also stopped giving cash back on coupons of a higher value than the purchase price.
To limit fraud risks, some stores don’t allow printouts from Coupons.com—or any coupons that aren’t on their master list, even if they’re legitimate.

Where the Extreme Couponers are now: Many stars of the 2011–2012 TLC show moved on from coupon-clipping to maxing out their 401(k) and IRA contributions and racking up hotel loyalty points for cheaper travel. They told the Wall Street Journal that this offers higher returns for a drastically lower time commitment. Probably fewer paper cuts, too.—ML




PERSONAL FINANCE
Are all of these loyalty schemes programs worth it?


Francis Scialabba


You’re just six more purchases from a free coffee. You’re four more hole punches from a free sandwich. If you amass 500 more points, that airline will let you fly the plane.

Maybe that last one isn’t real (yet), but loyalty programs have become ubiquitous. As of 2016, long before the current loyalty gold rush, Accenture reported that 90% of companies already had programs that gave you “free” stuff for making purchases.

But these plans can come at a cost.
Loyalty being punished?

If you’ve noticed the perks aren’t as perky as they were when you first joined a given club, you might not be imagining things. The Washington Post looked into potential loyalty paranoia and instead found that Starbucks and other companies might use your info to cut back on your deals through surveillance pricing:Former FTC officials Samuel Levine and Stephanie Nguyen told the outlet that some companies will use AI and your personal data to charge higher prices to specific patrons.
A study from the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator and the University of California at Berkeley’s Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice also found that these programs can invert the idea of loyalty, benefiting companies more than customers.

Data concerns: Ask that app not to track all you want, but some are still able to gather enough data in other ways to determine things like your income and how much money you’re willing to fork over. The author of the WaPo story requested and received his data report from Starbucks, which showed every drink and snack he had bought, every offer he had received, and every tap he made in the app. That kind of data could be shared with dozens of tech firms that specialize in tailoring prices.

Open investigation: The FTC began investigating surveillance pricing in July 2024, but when the Trump administration took office, it halted the probe. Levine and Nguyen said they’d like to see it resume. Noting that in some cases loyalty programs may be the only path to a discount, Levine told WaPo, “We shouldn’t be put in a position where we have to decide between affording our groceries and protecting our privacy.”—DL

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