Coupon
In marketing, a coupon is a ticket or document that can be redeemed for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product.

Customarily, coupons are issued by manufacturers of consumer packaged goods or by retailers, to be used in retail stores as a part of sales promotions. They are often widely distributed through mail, coupon envelopes, magazines, newspapers, the Internet (social media, email newsletter), directly from the retailer, and mobile devices such as cell phones.

The New York Times reported "more than 900 manufacturers' coupons were distributed" per household, and that "the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that four families in five use coupons.
"Only about 4 percent" of coupons received were redeemed. Coupons can be targeted selectively to regional markets in which price competition is great.

Most coupons have an expiration date, although American military commissaries overseas honor manufacturers' coupons for up to six months past the expiration date.

Pronunciation

The word is of French origin, pronounced [kupɔ̃]. In Britain, the United States, and Canada it is pronounced KOO-pon. A common alternate American pronunciation is KEW-pon.

History

Origin

During the great famine of 18 AH (638 CE), Umar, the second ruler of the Islamic Caliphate, introduced several reforms such as the introduction of food rationing using coupons, which were given to those in need and could be exchanged for wheat and flour.

Coca-Cola's 1888-issued "free glass of" is the earliest documented coupon. Coupons were mailed to potential customers and placed in magazines. It is estimated that between 1894 and 1913 one in nine Americans had received a free Coca-Cola, for a total of 8,500,000 free drinks. By 1895 Coke was served in every state in the United States.In 1929, Betty Crocker began a loyalty points program and began issuing coupons that could be used to redeem for premiums like free flatware. In 1937 the coupons were printed on the outside of packages. The loyalty program ended in 2006, one of the longest loyalty programs.In Australia consumers first came in contact with couponing when a company called Shopa Docket promoted offers and discounts on the back of shopping receipts in 1986.

Types and uses

Coupons offer different types of values, such as discounts, free shipping, buy-one get-one, trade-in for redemption, first-time customer coupons, free trial offer, launch offers, festival offers, and free giveaways. Similarly, there are varied uses of coupons which include: to incentivize a purchase, reduce a price, provide a free sample, or to aid marketers in understanding the demographics of their customer.

Function

Coupons can be used to research the price sensitivity of different groups of buyers (by sending out coupons with different dollar values to different groups). Time, location and sizes (e.g. five pound vs. 20 pound bag) affect prices; coupons are part of the marketing mix. So is knowing about the customer.

Grocery coupons

Grocery coupons come in two major types:

store coupons: issued by the store itself. Some stores will also accept store coupons issued by competitors.

Coupons issued by the manufacturer of a product may be used at any coupon-accepting store that carries that product. Part of their function is to advertise their offerings and attract new customers.Some grocery stores regularly double or even triple the value of coupons to bring customers into their stores. Periodic special events double or triple coupon values on certain days or weeks.

Conveyance

Coupons exist in more than one form, and are acquired by customers in a variety of ways.

Paper

Historically, verifying the discount offered has been via presenting coupons clipped from newspapers or received in the mail.
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