Free is for me

Offering consumers something for nothing may not be a sustainable retail strategy, but these days the practice has become increasingly commonplace, as all types of retailers are locked in a battle for customer traffic. Target has routinely offered gifts cards of $5 or $10 to people who buy products featured in its ads, and, on occasion, pharmacy chains have offered gift cards up to $20 when customers fill or transfer a prescription. More recently Target began offering products free with the purchase of a related product. For example, customers who bought a $1.79 jar of Skippy-branded peanut butter and a $1.79 bottle of Welch’s-branded squeezable grape jelly could received a free loaf of Arnold-branded bread. A $5.50 DiGiorno pizza came with a two-liter Coke product and Target threw in a gallon of milk if customers bought three boxes of Kellogg’s-branded cereals.