It would be impossible to count, but the average supermarket contains about 70,000 different products and variations of the product that could make any shopper dizzy.
How do manufacturers manage to get your attention with yet another new product? COUPONS. Coupons are still one of the best forms of promotion, and as good shoppers we want to please the manufacturers by using them, and using them a lot.
Most new items are accompanied by multiple promotional techniques: taste tests, samples, media advertising, and coupons. In general these coupons are of high-value, and when accompanied by a store sale, can almost be gotten for free or at a sizeable discount.
Stacy Pita chips issued a $1 coupon accompanied by $1.99 sale. Each bag, now selling for $3.49 cost me $.99, about an 70% savings. Silk milk created Almond Silk. The milk was featured at $1.99 with a red dispenser coupon for $1. With the long expiration dates on the milk, I could stock up on at least 4 ½ gallons using a $1 coupon on each.
Most new products never make it past the first year. Depending upon its’ budget, information about the product floods the market during that time. Which mean more promotions, more coupons and more sales.
When I checked out with the 4 Almond Silk the register spit out more coupons, again a $1 savings on each ½ gallon. I’ll hold onto them for the next sale.
Many new products are variations of popular existing products, some involving another flavor, others offering reduced calories and others yet meeting special dietary needs such as gluten free, salt free or the whole wheat version.
These adaptations are more likely to make the cut, since the product is already proven. For example I always drink diet Coke; now there’s Coke zero, both are 0 calories; but Coke Zero is marketed for its better taste.
Arnold and Pepperidge Farm Bread have many varieties, one of the newer offerings is the Whole Wheat package. With Whole Wheat products being touted for better health, that’s another new intro that will probably make it.
Special diets have foods that have come a long way. My grandmother could not use any salt in her food. There were so few packaged products that she could use, everything had to be made fresh. If she was around today she’d have a ball picking and choosing from an endless selection of sodium free goods.
Enewsletters from many of the manufacturers also alert you to the new introductions and offer coupons and refunds on their web sites. That was the case with DiGorno Flat Bread sandwiches from Kraft. With a sign up, you could get a free coupon mailed to you.
Using high value new product coupons you will reduce your grocery bill and get to try lots of new items, so now it’s time to give it a shot.
