Couponing as a Promotional Tool: Consumers Do Benefit

Couponing has become an increasingly significant promotional tool for many manufacturers. Consumers are exposed to thousands of coupons every year offering the potential for substantial savings in the household budget. While most consumers appear willing to accept coupons, should they be viewed as a bonanza for consumers or is couponing a promotional technique from which consumers need to be protected? Critics of couponing have suggested their use increases the prices of products and creates an unfair situation in which coupon users are being subsidized by nonusers. This article responds to these and other criticisms of couponing and argues that these accusations may be unjustifiable and that coupons in reality could be in the best interest of consumers.