On the cheap
Consumers had the chance to choose from 323 billion coupons last year, at a total savings of $37 billion. Yet, coupon redemption fell 6 percent in 2005, according to a recent report from Winston-Salem-based CMS, an intermediary between manufacturers and retailers.
That means consumers redeemed 3 billion coupons at U.S. retail stores last year, down from 3.2 billion in 2004.
One reason for that, CMS says, is that coupons just became less valuable last year. Though the average coupon value increased a penny - to $1.16 - that slight rise couldn't keep pace with inflation. And the increase in coupon values came off as paltry compared to hikes from pervious years - as much as 14 percent in 2004.
Other than that, the coupon industry remained steady. The average coupon expiration period was 2.9 months, and most coupons expired within five months of issue. About 25 percent of coupons required purchase of at least two products.
The vast majority - 88 percent - of last year's coupons came to consumers via Sunday newspapers.