COVID-19 Makes BOGOs a NO-GO for Retailers

ST. PETERSBURG -- Grocery prices saw their biggest increases in nearly half a century, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and promotions such as coupons, BOGOs and online discounts have greatly diminshed.

But the chief marketing officer at a St. Petersburg company that uses deep dive in-store data to generate coupons at the cash register says, they'll be back.

Marta Cyhan is CMO for Catalina, which is the company behind many of those coupons that appear with your receipt at various retailers. She says shortages and new expenses led to fewer discount promotions in April.

"Part of that was driven with out-of-stock, supply chain (issues)... and quite honestly, retailers had to absorb increased costs in labor, sanitation... costs that they typically don't foresee," Cyhan says, adding that she thinks that trend will reverse.

"As we're looking in the last 30 days, we're seeing (coupon) redemptions up 35 percent."

Cyhan says retailers are aware that we're entering a recession and that people are looking for bargains.

"As we go into... June and the summer... that's one of the things that retailers as well as brands, are tuned into... is that 88 percent of consumers are looking for deals and 83 percent are looking for low prices."

Hear more from Marta Cyhan in our Beyond the News podcast:

Photo Credit: Getty Images


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