Why Do Coupons Expire?
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A decade ago, coupons frequently had a “shelf life” of six months or more. The same coupon today will likely expire in six weeks or less. Why?
As with most issues, things are more complicated than they seem. All of the reasons revolve around the need to convince the consumer to purchase the product. NOW.
A large number of manufacturer coupons are produced as promotions introducing new products. In the early 1980’s, new consumer packaged goods were introduced at a rate of roughly 2,500 a year. By the late 1990’s, the number of new products has risen to more than 25,000.
The average grocery store holds about 40,000 items. Competition for shelf-space is, well, an understatement. Manufacturers pay “slotting fees”, also known as purchasing shelf space, just to make the items available to the consumer. They must compete to keep their product on the shelf. The grocery store needs to sell the product at a profit to keep the product on the shelf.
Failure rates for new products are estimated to range from 50 – 90%.
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