Coupons

What impact do coupons have on your value chain?

Some facts about coupons:

• Over 330 billion manufacturer paper coupons are issued in the US annually, with a total value of more than $300 billion.
• Almost 4 billion individual coupons are redeemed by consumers annually.
• A coupon has an average face value of 84 cents. 
• Over 100,000 US retail companies accept coupons at their individual store locations. 
• Coupons are legal tender in the US. 
• The redemption process by which retailers are reimbursed by the manufacturer is outsourced to processing agents.

The current system is broken.

Companies with U.P.C. Company Prefixes greater than 6-digits can no longer be uniquely identified at coupon processing points by scanning the coupon. Until a new system is implemented, the cost and inaccuracy of redemption will continue to rise.

A solution is available.

Using business requirements received by the Coupon Re-Engineering Work Group, the Joint Industry Coupon Committee (JICC) and solution partners, assisted by GS1 US, have developed the U.S. Coupon Application Guideline using GS1 DataBar™ (RSS) Expanded Symbols.

This new coupon system can bring data integrity and efficiency to coupons:

• This draft solution proposes a new coupon format (with a larger number of optional fields for specifying the more complex coupon offers in use today).
• The new coupons will contain both the U.P.C. and GS1 DataBar (RSS) Expanded barcode, eventually moving to just the GS1 DataBar Expanded.

Note: Reduced Space Symbology (RSS) is now known as GS1 DataBar.

• Since the GS1 Company Prefix is a globally recognized data structure, global users may also choose to adopt this new coupon system.

Learn more

• View An Introduction to Coupons, a GS1 US presentation to members interested in understanding coupons.
• Watch the video Getting Ready GS1 DataBar on Coupons, presented by P&G, Ahold USA, and the JICC.
• Read the Business Case For GS1 DataBar (RSS) on Coupons. 
• Review the Coupon Re-Engineering Status Report from the JICC.
• Coupon FAQs 
• Coupon Migration Path
• Learn About the New Coupon Barcode Ahead
• Visit The Association of Coupon Professionals (ACP)
• Buyer’s Guide for GS1 DataBar Scanners
• Buyer’s Guide for GS1 DataBar Printers and Scales 

Coupon Business Requirements

This is a consolidated list of business requirements submitted to the Coupon Re-Engineering Work Group that were considered in developing the new coupon system:

• Enable the use of full GS1 Company Prefix to enable accurate redemption compatible with in-ad coupons
• Unlimited value codes and complete validation
• More flexible purchase requirements including the capability to prevent coupon doubling
• Secure system with fraud controls with an audit trail indicating items purchased
• Cost-effective and easy to implement migration path
• No loss in POS productivity and must facilitate electronic coupon clearing