Coupons/ Rebates/ Pricing

Retail sales generally improved in June, helped by good weather and big discounts as retailers look to clear inventory for the back-to-school season.
 
Costco Wholesale Corp. reported a 6% increase in June same-store sales, helped by higher fuel prices. Its results topped Wall Street estimates.

Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates and gasoline prices, Costco’s same-store sales increased 6% for the five-week period ended July 6. The metric rose 5% in the United States and 7% overseas.  

ShopAtHome.com, one of the largest coupon search engines connecting shoppers to exclusive deals and cash-back savings, has expanded its product offering to include ShopGold Rewards, a new program that offers free gift cards from major retailers to consumers.

The company said that ShopGold Reward’s launch has positioned it as the “most extreme savings hub anywhere,” and the only site offering coupons, cash back and free gift card rewards in an integrated way through its site and apps.

Dallas - 7-Eleven is celebrating its 87th birthday with eight days of free offers, beginning July 11. To receive each day's free offer, a customer must first download and register on the 7-Eleven app.

A customer opens the 7-Eleven app at the store and shows the member barcode to the sales associate at checkout. The barcode appears below the coupons. Once the associate scans the barcode at the register, the customer will receive the item as they check out.

Scanbuy, a leading mobile engagement solutions provider, has upgraded its ScanLife app for Android and iOS devices, giving consumers the opportunity to receive personalized deals and promotions as well as rewards based on their scanning activity via the app’s recommendation engine.

Free Standing Insert (FSI) coupon activity increased 3.4% based on Coupons Dropped during the first six months of 2014 versus the same time period in 2013, according to Marx, a Kantar Media solution.

FSI Coupons Dropped within non-food categories increased 8.2% to represent 65% of the 158 billion FSI coupons distributed during this period.

With back to-school season underway, many retailers are already offering deals and discounts to drive traffic to their online and brick-and-mortar stores. Staples is no different.

The retailer’s price-match program, launched a little more than a week ago, gives shoppers incentive by promising to match a competitor’s price — including prices on Amazon and any retailer with both online and brick-and-mortar stores — on any items sold in Staples stores or on Staples.com. Customers will then receive 10% off the difference.

Acosta Sales & Marketing, a leading full-service sales and marketing agency in the consumer packaged goods industry, has reported that more than 30 national leading consumer brands and 100 grocery retail banners have pledged to support this generation of veterans by participating in the 2014 Wounded Warrior Project Believe in Heroes campaign.

Believe in Heroes benefits Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to honor and empower Wounded Warriors.

Office Depot is kicking off its latest back-to-school campaign — Gotta Get It! — which includes more than 1,000 items for $5 or less in stores and online. The company is also offering a new price-match policy to shoppers year-round to drive traffic to Office Depot and OfficeMax locations.