Cut That Out: The History of the Coupon

Let’s take a quick mental trip back to your childhood. Think very hard.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you would go grocery shopping with your mom? All you might remember about that is how you got a sweet treat at the end of the trip if you behaved in the store.

Dig down deeper and you might remember something else. You might remember your mom destroying the newspaper by cutting it up before you ended up at the store.

Moms have a terrible reputation of being coupon sharks. Anything that gives them a lower price on groceries will be in their hands as fast as you can say “uncle”.

After all, why wouldn’t moms take advantage of lower prices with the snip of scissors? It’s an offer too good to pass up.

You might remember that part of your beloved mother vividly, but have you ever stopped and wondered where exactly coupons came from?

You probably thought they have always existed, but surprisingly you are mistaken. Here is a quick rundown of the history of this handy piece of paper that saves bundles of money:

The idea of coupons first began in 1886 by the Coca-Cola company. They were pioneered by one of the major partners of the company, a man named Asa Chandler.

He was one of the first Coca-Cola executives to transform the company into something nobody had heard about, to a high successful moneymaker; and it was all because of his use of the promotional ticket.

Candler started out by having company Brand Viagra employees and sales representatives give out tickets to try a free Coca-Cola. They would give them out to anybody they came in contact with.

He did this so that people would be introduced to this new, unknown product and so they could try it for themselves. The free tickets were distributed in other ways, too.

They were put in magazines all over the country so that people could cut them out and use them. They were also mailed to people that were thought of as potential Coca-Cola drinkers.

His unusual cialis cheap method might have cost a lot of money, but it paid off very well. By 1895, the new Coca-Cola drink had been served in every state of the United States.

In 1913, it was estimated that one in nine American had tried the drink. If you add that up, that is over 8 million free drinks that were distributed!

After Coca-Cola trail-blazed the new idea, other companies followed. The second company to use coupons was Post Cereal.

C.W. Post was a grocer that had developed a new breakfast cereal called Grape Nuts. In order to get the cereal’s name out there on the market, he put a discount on the back of the cereal box for anybody to find.

Every coupon gave people a one cent discount of their next Grape Nuts purchase. This encouraged consumers to continue buying Post’s product.

The advent of coupons also proved crucial during the 1930s and the Great Depression. At this time, many individuals and families were down on their luck and had almost no money.

In order to afford the groceries for the week so their families could survive, many relied solely on the saving grace of discount tickets.

From 1940 to 1970, the coupon grew in necessity and it became an American staple. The 1940s saw viagra alternatives over the counter the creation of chain supermarkets, which also used discount tickets to drive traffic to their store.

In 1957, a new institution was devoted entirely to creating and distributing coupons to American families. It was called the Nielsen Clearing Coupon House.

Even today, this great invention is a necessity for those who go grocery shopping and buy other items at a myriad of stores. The advent of the Internet age has also taken advantage of this great invention.

Now, anyone can go online and print out discounts from hundreds of different websites so that they can redeem them at stores. You still might have to cut them out, but no longer are many people cutting shreds and shreds of paper out of the daily newspaper!

Author Bio: Tommy Greene writes about unique ways to save money. He recommends Utah coupon for finding great money-saving deals.

Contact Info:

Tommy Greene
TommyGreene09@gmail.com
http://www.hubzub.com

Category: Culture and Society/Shopping
Keywords: utah coupon

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