It always seemed mind-bogglingly difficult to achieve the kinds of savings portrayed on the TLC show “Extreme Couponing.” …
Kroger
Brand Names Just Don’t Mean as Much Anymore
No matter if we’re talking about cereal, cough syrup or batteries, products featuring nationally recognized name brands tend to cost more than their generic store-brand counterparts. But the assumption that higher price means …
Will Customers Love or Hate ‘Personalized’ Grocery Prices?
The concept of “personalized” grocery store deals strikes some consumers as inherently unfair. How would you feel, after all, if you were charged more than the person in front of you at checkout for the same exact item? Few …
Food Stamps: More Benefit to Big Food Than to the Poor?
The federal government is spending millions to encourage more Americans to apply for food stamps, or rather the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which replaced food stamps. Ads paid for with tax dollars are …
The War Against Couponers: Double Coupons Going Way of the Dinosaur
As of April 1, yet another major supermarket chain has put an end to double coupons, in which a store matches a manufacturer coupon, doubling the discount. The move comes amid a larger strategic war against “extreme couponing” …
The Hottest Thing at the Supermarket: Generic Store-Brand Foods
Not long ago, supermarket house brand foods were easily detected by their lame packaging, if not the groans they elicited from kids forced to eat the cheap knock-off goods. Times have changed.
3 Changes to Look For at the Checkout Line
For a while, it looked like cashiers would keep disappearing and self-checkout would become ubiquitous. But retailers—supermarkets especially—are falling out love with self-checkout. They still love trying to tempt shoppers …
5 Ways to Get Free or Discounted Gas This Summer
Supermarkets, retail chains, and cereal manufacturers are trying to attract customers with perks everyone seems to want while gas prices remain high: discounts and freebies at the pump. Here’s a look at five promotions promising …
Why Oh Why: Why You Should Care About These 8 Consumer Questions Asking ‘Why’
For instance: Why in the world would you have to pay a fee just to pay your bill?
Boo Berry Is No Substitute for Franken Berry
To save money, create a more simplified shopping experience, and potentially even increase sales, Walgreens, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and other stores are whittling down the options on their shelves. It’s a move that most consumers appreciate, at least in theory: Now they only have to consider 187 varieties of shampoo, rather than 248. But if …
Are You Mental? Retailers Try to Understand (and Exploit) the ‘Recession Mentality’
Is the recession over? It doesn’t really matter. Retailers and manufacturers realize that frugality will be the rule at least for the near future, and they’re trying to figure out how to reach the newly cautious, newly vigilant consumer.
