Kroger will cut prices, drop double coupons

If you’re a devoted coupon clipper, you might want to sit down.

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.

Krogers .... how lucky we are ...

I had an occasion today while waiting for my wife to purchase product to do her demo, aat Krogers, to watch the activity going on at the store. I know I have readers abroad in many countries, so I can't speak for everyone, but we, here in Newark, Ohio have the availability to go to Krogers, in North Newark, and shop. Not just shop, but choose from thousands of items, all new, all fresh, shelves stocked, the store immaculately clean, well staffed, neat and orderly.

I admit I can't conceive how, manufacturers and producers can continue to produce the amount of product needed to keep all these stores supplied with product.

We take so much for granted in this country. People were scurrying everywhere in the store, filling shopping carts, going up and down endless aisles of stocked shelves, giving no thought to how it got there.

I remember the day we went to the store to get a quart of milk. Now, look at the milk cases, everything you could think of, coming in all shapes and sizes, and more.

Earl Heier had the grocery store across the street from us on the corner, many years ago. He had everything we needed in his small corner store. I doubt that till we moved in 1943 everything we ate or had in the house came from his store. We bought our groceries at Earls, our drugs, toothpaste and such at a Drug Store, and our clothes, at a clothing store, hardware at a hardware store. What a unique concept that is. I found this old foto on Google, I don't think Earl had carts though, you carried your items to a counter and he would add up your total on an old NCR, National Cash Register machine, made just a few blocks away.

Controversial, to say the least

This ad brought a lot of comment on my Facebook site. Mostly abusive stuff. I have been shopping and doing Demos in Walmart for many years. We shop there because of low prices. Other stores have some lower prices, at times, but we feel that consistently, on certain items, we get better prices. We sometimes spend aa lot of time in line, and I sometimes go "ballistic" to my wife, about standing in those lines, I have left rather full carts, and walked out. I KNOW they are going to be busy between 4 and 6, they have the second larges computer system in the country, second only to the Pentagon, so why don't they know they will be busy.

The answer, they don't care, its called "extortion." They have low prices, we shop there, we stand in line, that simple. The manager will be standing there, taking in all the long lines, people waiting, and do nothing, he knows ...... give them low prices, the will come.

I just wish they would put in "Self Service" lanes, they once advertised they were going to, but they didn't.

We have to shop at Walmart. Meijer's closed, and if we go to Kroger's  well, where I have to pull out, heavy traffic, both ways, and I don't merge well, anymore. If they put a traffic light there, well, then we could.

Thankfully, more blog material .... just spent thirty minutes or so, waiting for my wife, sitting in the entry way of a Kroger's.

Nice sunny day out, 70 degrees, really a nice day. Why then, did that one fly, decide to pester me. I didn't have shaving lotion on, I had showered, but he lit on me a hundred times or so. I was sitting by the door, on a bench, very comfortable, watching people come in and out, when he decided to be a pest. He would land on my knee, then my forehead, the a cheek, one right after the other. He had the whole store, all that produce, the meat department, that sushi bar would have been ideal for him. But, no, just me. We are home now, he is probably out in the car, I left the window open.

Another revelation, some people enter, go get a cart, and then, prior to entering, they take a sanitizing wipe and wipe the place where the hands go, not sure what to call it. Some will end up also wiping their hands, and some will not. They get the cart, touch it, then sanitize it. It's about fifty fifty on the wipe first thing.

Some will take a sanitizing wipe and wipe the pusher prior to taking the cart. They are the smart ones, kill the germs before touching it.

WHY did that one lady, enter, talking loudly on her phone, get her cart, phone between shoulder and cheek, still talking loudly, and take off into the store, still talking loudly. Why did she think that anyone wanted to hear her conversation, I certainly didn't. Unless she was talking with her trainer about exercise (except for her mouth) and weight loss.

It was Kroger's, I saw that sign thing, it showed they needed 4 checkers, one lane was open for me, it works. I told the guy I felt the "zap" when I walked in the door. It does work, not sure how, but it does.