$3.5 Billion in coupons in 2009

Shoppers saved nearly $3.5 billion with coupons in 2009, according to the Year-end 2009 Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Coupon Industry Facts Report recently released by NCH Marketing Services, Inc., a Valassis company.  A record number of coupons in the marketplace contributed to this increase of $800 million, or nearly 30% more than 2008.

CPG coupon distribution increased by 11% from 2008, to a total of 311 billion coupons distributed in 2009 – the largest single-year distribution quantity ever recorded. The majority of 2009 coupon distribution growth occurred as marketers chose to put paper coupons in the hands of consumers in a variety of different ways to stimulate product purchase decisions last year. Consumers redeemed nearly 3.2 billion coupons in 2009, a 23% increase over the prior year. This growth represented the second-highest increase ever recorded for year-over-year coupon redemption. Marketers also increased the average face value of coupons – up to $1.41 in 2009 from $1.29 in 2008.