Supermarket shopper

Checkout Coupon system benefits shopper, store

Web posted December 16, 1998

By Martin Sloane
Associated Press

Dear Martin: I was under the impression that a Checkout Coupon could be used with a regular manufacturer's coupon on the same item. For as long as I can remember I have been doing this under the assumption that the Checkout Coupon was the store's own coupon since it could only be used at the supermarket named on the coupon.

The other day a cashier informed me that I could only use one coupon or the other because they were both manufacturer's coupons.

I called the supermarket's headquarters and was again told that the Checkout Coupon is a manufacturer's coupon. When I said that I had redeemed Checkout Coupons combined with coupons I had clipped out of the Sunday newspaper, I was told that I had just been ``lucky'' and that the cashiers should have caught it.

If the Checkout Coupons are truly manufacturer's coupons, why doesn't my supermarket double them, as they do with other manufacturer's coupons? -- Wendy Kosel, Irondequoit, N.Y.

Dear Wendy: The Checkout Coupon system and coupon printer are now installed at checkout counters in more than 11,000 supermarkets. The system prints coupons based on the products you purchase. At the end of the shopping trip, just as you are finished paying for your purchases, it can provide you with valuable coupons to use on your next shopping trip.

The coupons are especially valuable because they are for the products you usually use. So, if you purchase cat food, you may receive a cat-food coupon from the Checkout Coupon printer. Chances are it won't be for the brand you purchased, but the savings may motivate you to switch brands on your next trip.

That is how most Checkout Coupons work. For example, if Coca-Cola were the Checkout Coupon sponsor, you might receive a high-value Coca-Cola coupon if you purchased another brand of soda. Supermarkets like the Checkout Coupon system partly because the coupons are only good at the store where they are dispensed. Having a bunch of valuable Checkout Coupons means you will probably return to that store, a comforting thought for the retailer.

Although the name of the supermarket is printed on Checkout Coupons, they are definitely manufacturer's coupons. It says this at the top of each coupon. As with most coupons distributed at supermarkets, there is a restriction against doubling. Double coupons are very costly for retailers, and they demand the restriction.

While you can't combine checkout coupons with typical manufacturer's coupons, smart shoppers often use manufacturer's coupons to purchase products on which there are Checkout Coupon savings. Why would a manufacturer issue both a regular coupon as well as offer Checkout Coupon savings? It happens when one promotion period overlaps another.

A CAREFUL SHOPPER

really needs three eyes, one for scanning the shelves, one for guiding the cart in the right direction and a third for keeping an eye on the purse, especially when supermarkets and other retailers are crowded with holiday shoppers.

``Lock your purse in the trunk of your car'' was the advice of one of my readers. Other readers, however, warned that thieves could be watching the parking lot waiting to break into cars they think contain valuables.

Barbara Peel of Aiken advised shoppers to place their purses in the trunks of their cars before leaving their garages, taking only the necessary coupons and grocery money.

If you are not going directly to the supermarket from your house, P.A. Good of Augusta recommends putting the purse in the trunk at the last stop before visiting the supermarket.

NOW THAT YOU

are in the supermarket with your purse cleverly hidden in your car, I have an offer for you in the cereal aisle. In most supermarkets now, specially marked packages of General Mills Raisin Nut Bran have a yellow ``Free Cookies!'' banner. On the back of the package you will find a coupon good for up to $2.19 on Archway cookies. There is nothing else to buy. Just clip out the coupon for the free cookies. The coupon expires Aug. 31.

Write to Martin Sloane care of United Feature Syndicate, 2006 Madison Ave., fourth floor, New York, NY 10016.