Kroger’s Columbus Division is ending its practice of doubling the value of manufacturer coupons on May 1. Instead, it’s cutting prices on more than 2,000 products, including fresh fruits and vegetables.
The move by Kroger, which already has stopped the practice in its home city, Cincinnati, and in about half its other markets, leaves Giant Eagle as the sole coupon-doubling grocer in the Columbus area.
Michigan grocer Meijer ended the practice in August.
“In today’s day and age, people are more rushed and have less time to clip coupons,” said Jackie Siekmann, spokeswoman for Kroger’s Columbus division. The thinking is, a lot more shoppers will benefit from the price cuts rather than the doubled coupons.
Some grocers have discontinued the practice of doubling coupons because the number of shoppers it attracts to their stores has dwindled over the years and the practice no longer justifies the cost to administer it.
In Kroger’s case, less than 2 percent of Columbus-area customers are what the grocer calls “ heavy coupon users,” the company said, and a vast majority of its customers — 86 percent — never use double coupons.
It’s a trend in the industry, one observer said.
