W. Frank Dell II, CMC

CPGmatters: FSIs Poised for Growth After 'Historic' 2009

March 3, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Freestanding inserts (FSIs) - always a significant force in couponing - have surged in recent times. In fact, FSIs have seen the most activity in a decade, according to the 7th annual FSI Distribution Trends Report. What's supporting the growth in freestanding inserts?      [more...]

The Great Recession is the consumer driver. Some who never used coupons are active users now. Those who sometimes used coupons are heavy into them now. Newspapers have lost so much advertising, they are dealing inserts to the point that our weekend paper has more inserts than news. Mass coupon mailing has changed. It is no longer the world, but targeting likely purchasing households.

But this is all going to change. The future is retailer-directed coupons to frequent shopper cards. This saves the cutting and handling time for the consumer. Browse and click links a coupon to the consumer's card. In the store, when the item is purchased, the coupon is credited. This also provides the retailer savings in handling coupons. What is missing for consumers is a list, laid out in store sequence, of all the coupons selected.