Are you using more coupons?

We just received a report from NCH — on of the largest coupon clearing houses in the world.

Here are six things that stood out to us:

1. More Coupons. Coupon distribution from retailers is up 11.6 percent
2. Frugal Habits Remain. Retailers realize that due to the recession, consumers have established new shopping habits which are focused on saving money.
3. Sunday Paper. The Sunday FSIs (free standing inserts) continue to grow and are still the most common distribution method for coupons.
4. Shorter Expirations. Because more coupons are being distributed, and in an effort to control their costs, marketers are shortening the duration of coupons (they'll expire sooner) down from 10.8 weeks to 9.3 weeks.
5. Coupon redemption is up 5.3 percent—over 2.5 billion coupons have been redeemed. Do the math. 2.5 billion coupons / 114 million American households = Sounds like a lot of coupons . . . but the reality is that it comes out to only 22 coupons redeemed per household.
6. Coupons at Dollar Stores. This was really interesting. Coupon usage at Dollar Stores, warehouse clubs and convenience stores have soared about 30 percent. We're finding some great deals on bread, greeting cards and kitchen supplies at our local Dollar Store—if you know your prices, you can really pick up some good deals (and save even more by using coupons). 

Heres their summary. And if you want to read the entire report and see their colorful charts and graphs, click here

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) marketers have continued to increase the total quantity of coupons they issue to consumers, up 11.6% year-to-date through the third quarter. In both the Grocery and Health & Beauty Care (HBC) segments, CPG marketers have increased the quantity of coupons distributed as a way to promote their brands to consumers who formed new savings-oriented shopping habits during the recession. More of those coupons were distributed through Free Standing Inserts (FSI), a media with very broad household reach. 

With the increased consumer demand for value, marketers have been balancing their budgets by managing the coupon offer characteristics that influence redemption velocity. For example, marketers continue to increase the number of coupons issued with purchase requirements of two or more items, driving the year-to-date share of multiple purchase coupons to 29% of all offers distributed. Furthermore, marketers have significantly shortened the duration of offers, with expiration dates now averaging 9.3 weeks year-to-date 2010, a full week and a half shorter than this time last year.

In total, 2.5 billion coupons have been redeemed year-to-date through the third quarter of 2010, up 5.3% compared to a year ago. With the exception of the retail segment where Dollar Stores are reported, which is up 31% year-to-date, redemption increases across most retail channels have been on par with the industry-wide increase.

Although the recession has been deemed officially over by the economists at the National Bureau of Economic Research's Business Cycle Dating Committee, high unemployment, suppressed home values and low consumer sentiment continue to further entrench the frugal shopping habits that consumers picked up during the recession, thereby influencing the way marketers promote.

GET TON$ OF COUPONS

Lots of frugal coupon-clipping moms are telling us that All You Magazine is well worth the subscription price (6 issues for $10 / 12 issues for $19.95). There are hundreds of dollars worth of excellent coupons in each issue. We’ve picked up a few copies and agree. It’s one magazine that actually pays for itself.