Opinion Satire
A Kansas City Grocer Now Sells At Cost Plus 10%. I Am 75 Cents Off Two, And I Expire Sunday. We Need To Talk
A guest column from Clip Savewell, a manufacturer's coupon, on ChopMore!, price transparency and what happens to a coupon when the price is already honest.
Based on real news: Midwest Price Chopper operator launches value-focused banner (Grocery Dive)
I am a manufacturer's coupon for 75 cents off two. I expire Sunday. I have expired every Sunday for as long as I can remember, and every Wednesday I come back in the circular, freshly printed, ready to save someone a little money on a second jar of salsa. It is a good life. It is a short life. I have made my peace with both.
This week, according to Grocery Dive, Cosentino's Food Stores opened ChopMore!, a no-frills store in Kansas City, Missouri, under the Price Chopper banner, where groceries are priced at the company's cost plus a 10% charge for overhead. The company calls it complete price transparency.
I read that sentence on the fridge, where I was being held up by a magnet shaped like a pineapple, and I felt something I have not felt since the invention of the digital coupon. Exposure.
- Waiting in a circular 44%
- Stuck to a fridge with a magnet 28%
- In a wallet, almost used 17%
- At the register, being scanned 1%
- Expiring, gracefully 10%
| Waiting in a circular | 44% |
|---|---|
| Stuck to a fridge with a magnet | 28% |
| In a wallet, almost used | 17% |
| At the register, being scanned | 1% |
| Expiring, gracefully | 10% |
Source: Clip Savewell's own calendar; one week, every week
Either way, I expire Sunday, and I will be back Wednesday, and I will be looking for the dotted line.
My whole career depends on a little mystery. A shopper sees a price, then sees me, then feels clever. That feeling is my product. A store that just tells you what it paid and what it added is a store where nobody needs to feel clever. They can simply feel informed, which I am told is also nice, but which has never once been stuck to a fridge.
I do not oppose honesty. I want to be clear about that. I would simply ask the people of Kansas City to consider that a deal can be both a number and an emotion, and I am the emotion. I come with scissors. I come with a dotted line.
Cosentino's says it will decide whether to expand ChopMore! after seeing how the store performs. I respect that. I, too, am evaluated weekly. If it goes well, they may open more. If I go well, I may be redeemed. Either way, I expire Sunday, and I will be back Wednesday, and I will be looking for the dotted line.
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Riffing on: Midwest Price Chopper operator launches value-focused banner, Grocery Dive