This Coupon King Plans to Change Its Ways

Name the company most likely to have uttered this line: "We have an overreliance on the coupon." If you guessed Bed Bath & Beyond thanks to the frequency at which its blue mailers end up at your home, you'd be correct. In a Wednesday investors meetings, Chief Merchandising Officer Joe Hartsig indicated the plan was to start curtailing them. CNBC reports two figures were trotted out: the first, that its customer count is up by 1.4 million thanks in large part to pandemic-related cleaning needs and home improvement—and that those customers are younger on average and 20% less likely to shop with a coupon.

Further, it said that in a review of 405 million customers' carts and 285,000 items, some 40% of its coupons were actually "ineffective." In an article written at the start of the month after the company's quarterly earnings call, Bloomberg indicated that the reliance on the coupon was already eroding naturally. Sarah Halzack wrote, The company also said it recorded a lower coupon expense in the quarter, suggesting it is working toward a more effective promotional strategy than simply pummeling people with "20% off" coupons. (More Bed Bath & Beyond stories.)