You knew it was coming. Retailers are cracking down and making their rules regarding coupon redemption more restrictive. The new guidelines come on the heels of a major surge in so-called "extreme couponing," which has been fueled by television shows, blogs, and old-fashioned word of mouth.
These savvy shoppers, some of whom have been chronicled on the TLC show aptly named "Extreme Couponers," are able to save thousands of dollars on groceries and other household items through strategic use of coupons and discounts. This often involves collecting stacks of newspapers, shopping at multiple stores, and combining store and manufacturer coupons. On the show, some couponers are even shown receiving money back from the store and walking out with several hundred dollars worth of products.
While it might have seemed like something was fishy with their clever methods, these coupon-enthusiasts were not breaking any kind of policies from either the store or the manufacturers of the products they purchased. That has all changed now, though. Retail giants like Target and Walmart have already announced policy changes like the nixing of double coupons.
Utah happens to have quite a healthy couponer population, which is not surprising given the number of large families in the state. The attraction of saving big on the family grocery bill is high, and understandable. The Beehive State is, in fact, home of several popular couponing blogs.
Most of these big-time couponers are just trying to save money for their household, and many even donate some of their haul to charity. Understandably, though, companies will always look to close the loopholes through which they are losing money. A spokesperson for Rite-Aid had this to say: "We've always designed our policy so that all of our customers can take advantage of the great values we offer rather than a small group excessively taking advantage of them."
The controversial and captivating phenomenon may be over almost as quickly as it began.
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