“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” – Charles Dickens
Let me tell you a little story about point-of-purchase coupons that appear in dispensers near various products at the supermarket. Couponers have long referred to these coupons as “Blinkies,” because the dispenser has a small red LED on the side blinking and beckoning to the shopper.
For as long as I can remember, the Blinkie dispensers have been maintained by SmartSource. They actually call them SmartSource Coupon Machines®, and if you’ve ever pulled a coupon out of a dispenser in a store aisle, you’ve seen and used one.
In Chicagoland, SmartSource Blinkie dispensers have always been found at both Jewel and Dominick’s, the two major grocers in this area. However, Jewel recently made a significant change to their point-of-purchase coupon dispensers, and they are no longer contracting with SmartSource to place coupon dispensers in their stores. In the middle of June, the SmartSource coupon dispensers quietly disappeared — perhaps you noticed.
In their places, we have new coupon dispensers maintained by Valassis (RedPlum.) The new dispensers look somewhat similar to the old ones, but unlike the SmartSource Coupon Machine, they do not dispense a certain amount of coupons to a user. The SmartSource coupon machine actually has an electric eye and won’t dispense more than two unless you move away from the machine and reapproach it as “someone else.” With the Valassis dispenser, there’s simply a slot in which you can stick your finger in and pull out as many coupons as you’d like. This can be good and bad. Good that you can get multiples easily if you need them — bad in that the dispensers will clear out much more quickly. Also notable? The Valassis dispensers don’t have a blinking light on them. (Will we still call them “Blinkies?”)
As for the coupons themselves, they don’t look terribly different — they’re still Manufacturer coupons. However, it will be interesting to see what kinds of products we’re offered coupons for, as the products that advertise with Valassis have traditionally been different than the ones that advertise with SmartSource. Will we lose point-of-purchase coupons for General Mills, Kraft, Yoplait and Pillsbury at Jewel? Quite likely.
Dominick’s continues to be serviced by SmartSource, adding a new element to the shopping and coupon-seeking game — and the deal-making game too. I can already foresee deal posts that begin, “Grab two $1-off-2 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Blinkies at Dominick’s, and then use them at Jewel, where General Mills cereals are part of a $25/$10 Catalina.” If anything, consider this a reminder to keep your eyes open when shopping at either store, as the coupons in their respective dispensers are now going to be very different — and yet, with both being manufacturer coupons, we won’t necessarily be using them at the same store in which we picked them up.
So, back to the often-quoted first line of a famous book, and also the opener of this post – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”: The best? We have more point-of-purchase coupons available, potentially for different products, than we have in the past. The worst? We have to do much more legwork to chase them all.
pwill69 says
Thank you so much for posting this. I thought they disappeared at my Jewel (Cary) because they are in the process of a remodel. I haven’t seen the new systems in place yet but will be sure to keep an eye out.
dancingwolves says
and my first concern was how many someone could take out at one time. I wasn’t aware of the different vendor. I not a shelf-clearer or blinkie emptier as I will only take two per shopping trip so we’ll see what happens. I’ve been big on saving blinkies and filing away the expired ones for Dominick’s because I noticed last year when they would be out…I’d say within four weeks the item would be on sale and possibly good with a Cat deal. I very familiar with the sesonal cycle of sales and several times a year our organization is involved with a food drive and the expired blinkies really worked well this past year. Usually was able to use them at the same store but lately it’s been more often than not at another. So we will see….
icoupon2 says
“The second manifestation of Supervalu’s streamlining came in how it handles point-of-sale coupons. This was especially important in the current economic environment because couponing continues to increase in popularity with financially strapped American consumers; use of on-shelf coupons rose 10% in the first half compared with a year ago nationwide, Kowalczyk said, and usage of on-package coupons rose 30%.
Valassis and Supervalu contrived a new on-shelf coupon dispenser, just a few inches square, to attack this challenge. It allows CPG brands to use miniature signage on the dispenser that shoppers see from three sides. And the hard-plastic fixtures have clean and unobtrusive lines.
Mars, for example, “loves this fixture because it really takes what they’re trying to do with their packaging and brings it out to the consumer by putting the same image that’s on the packaging on the box. It’s pure branding,” Kowalczyk said.
I like the use of the word “contrived”…has such a nice ring to it. Attack this challenge? What does that mean? Those are manufacturer coupons for which they are 100% reimbursed – if coupon use is up 10 & 30% for on-shelf and on-package coupons that means sales…which I think is what they are in business for? Aren’t they?
https://www.cpgmatters.com/instoremarketing0810.html