As a member of the Kroger blogger network, I received an email early this morning about an announcement that Kroger was making regarding pricing and coupons. The Kroger Central Division (Indiana and Illinois) announced that it will no longer be doubling coupons but will instead be reducing prices on some produce, natural foods, organics, and grocery.
The press release stated that the double coupon elimination will begin on July 31. Prices are already starting to be lowered on the other items to “encourage customers to increase the amount of healthy, nutritious produce in their diet.”
I’m not sure how much Kroger cares about whether I eat healthy foods, but it cannot be disputed that most coupons are for packaged, overproduced food rather than natural, unprocessed foods. I admit that I am often tempted to buy the stuff that is bad for me just because it is cheaper. Will these new measures make a difference? It will be interesting to see.
Responses to the story in the Indianapolis Star on their Facebook page have been mixed. I have seen everything from people who blame the “Extreme Couponers” to people saying that they will no longer shop at Kroger because they are more expensive and think this is a slap in the face to loyal customers. Others are saying that it is a step in the right direction of encouraging people to eat more organically. Kroger says that only 7% of customers were actually using the doubled coupons. I can believe that because so many coupons specifically say that they cannot be doubled and many of us are now moving to the electronic coupons.
What’s my take as a loyal Kroger shopper? I’m actually kind of glad. I know it’s not a popular opinion, but I have seen too many times the way that people take advantage of the double coupons to wipe out whole shelves of items so that no one else can buy them. The shoppers claim that it is the grocery store’s fault for allowing the loophole that allows them to actually MAKE money on the products. Kroger is just closing that loophole. If the end result is that I can actually find the items that I need instead of empty shelves and that the cost of more natural items can come down, it’s a benefit to me.
If the manufacturers really want to get coupons in the hands of potential customers, they will find a way. Instead of offering 50 cent coupons, they can offer $1 off coupons. Kroger isn’t changing that. I will continue to use my Kroger digital coupons, my Coupons.com coupons, and my SavingStar coupons to keep my grocery bills down.
What do you think about the Kroger decision? Will it make a difference in your shopping habits?
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