Jill Cataldo

You guys aren't going to like this one... but it does change how we all shop at Dominick's, so it needs to be noted.

Dominick's has changed their policy on minimum purchases for "Super Coupons." You'll remember that the old policy stated that the $10 or $20 minimums were based on the regular, non-sale, non-Fresh Values prices of the products:

What does "minimum $10 (or $20) purchase required" mean? To use store coupons that include a minimum purchase requirement, you must spend a minimum dollar amount on that shopping trip. You will reach the minimum purchase amount based upon total purchases before your Club Card discount is applied. This total will include the coupon item's regular price, not the discounted price. For example,the regular retail price of a box of Cheerios (before coupon and before Club Card discounts) will count toward the minimum purchase required in order to use the Cheerios coupon.

Got that? Now look at the new policy on Dominick's site:

What does "minimum $10 (or $20) purchase required" mean? To use store coupons that include a minimum purchase requirement, you must spend a minimum dollar amount on that shopping trip. You will reach the minimum purchase amount based upon total purchases after your Club Card discount is applied. For example, the regular retail price of a box of Cheerios (after Club Card discounts) will count toward the minimum purchase required in order to use the Cheerios coupon.

Dominick's... this is no way to improve on your already-tenuous relationship with your shoppers.

If you're not a regular reader of this blog's Forum, and you're a current or former Dominick's shopper who has had issues of coupon non-acceptance there, I have some required reading for you.

After hearing yet another story from one of my blog readers that a Dominick's cashier had denied coupons that she picked up in the store, I wrote an open letter to Dominick's. Dominick's Public Affairs department responded, and they are interested in what we have to say.

I invite you to read the letter, then post your comments in the response thread. Dominick's is listening.

How do you know what coupons a particular store takes? The answer lies in the store's coupon policy. Coupon policies are great tools for shoppers to know exactly where stores stand on what kinds of coupons they will accept.

Here are links to the most current coupon policies available at the time of this writing.

Jewel-Osco

Dominick's

Meijer

Hilander / Kroger

Walgreens

In my Super-Couponing classes, I'm often asked the question whether it's easier just to shop at an "everyday low price" supercenter vs. a "more expensive" supermarket with coupons to get the same savings. If you've used coupons for any length of time, you know that you'll actually get much better savings at the "more expensive" supermarkets by following the sales and matching them with coupons.