I mention this NYT "Drilling Down" piece in an earlier entry.  Here it is...

Drilling Down

A Growing Appreciation for Cents Off

By ALEX MINDLIN

Published: February 8, 2010

When the history of coupons finally gets written, 1992 will go down as the Year of the Coupon, a time when consumers redeemed about 7.9 billion of them. But every year since, that figure has shrunk, whittled down by years of relative prosperity, changing demographic trends and manufacturer policies that shortened each coupon's redemption period, among other changes.

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But in the fourth quarter of 2008, the slump bottomed out. Coupon use has risen every quarter since then, making 2009 the first year of rising coupon use since 1992. Last year, 3.5 billion coupons were redeemed, according to Inmar, a coupon processor that handles about half of the market and publishes figures extrapolated from its own volume.

First The New York Times, now Inc.  Mainstream business publications are reporting that consumers were using compons at a much higher rate in 2009 than the year before.  Here's the Inc. article...

Coupon Use Hits Record Highs

As cash-crunched consumers hunt for bargains, companies hope coupons will build loyalty after the recession is over. By Courtney Rubin |  Feb 8, 2010

After nearly two decades in decline, the coupon is back.

Thanks to the recession, in 2009 consumers used coupons at a faster clip than they did the year before - the first increase in coupon redemption in 17 years, says a new study by Inmar Inc., a company that processes coupon transactions. Businesses issued 367 billion coupons last year and buyers redeemed 3.3 billion, a 27 percent increase from 2008's 2.6 billion - and the highest usage since Inmar began tracking trends in 1988.

Online coupon access increased 92 percent (Google searches for "printable coupons" and "online printable coupons" more than doubled) and redemption of those Internet deals leaped up 360 percent, although the Internet accounts for only a snippet - 1.5 percent - of all coupons redeemed. Thinking of an online blue light special? Inmar's study suggests 1 in 5 people who receive your Internet coupon will cash in. (How do they measure such a thing? A formula involving page views and the number of times the page is printed.)

Traditional newspaper inserts are still prime territory for bargain hunters - 89 percent of coupons are distributed that way, and the paper vouchers account for more than half of those redeemed at the checkout counter. But digital discounts - often offered through an ever-increasing crop of companies devoted to mobile coupon aggregation - may help you lure new customers. A third of users signed up to one such aggregator, Cellfire, say they've never used a paper coupon, according to Brent Dusing, the company's chief executive. Who's using Cellfire? Sixty percent are women, and the biggest age group is 25 to 34-year-olds. Sixteen percent of users are older than 45.

The Inmar study suggests companies still see the humble coupon - paper or otherwise - as the way to consumers' hearts.

"Brands saw coupons as a key to maintaining brand strength," says Matthew Tilley, director of marketing for Inmar's promotion services division. "If they reduced their promotional presence, they stood to lose sales to lower-priced competitors and store brands - so they doubled down hoping to create brand loyalty once the economic dust settles."

If you're planning to go the coupon route yourself, a primer on trends from Inmar's report: The clip-and-save renaissance forced companies to keep face values down - they declined by a penny to $1.44, a reversal of years of increase. Another change: Expiration periods contracted by 10 percent after years of remaining static.

Here's a web link to a number of Private Label v. national brand price comparisons.  Conducted by the Boston Globe. And here's a link to the full story.

Here's a brief article from Supemarket News.  Consumers say they will continue buying PL products...

Survey: Post-Recession Shoppers Sticking With Private Label

Jan 27, 2010 4:15 PM

NEW YORK -- More than one-third (37%) of those who turned to private labels during the economic downturn will continue to purchase them once the economy recovers, according to BrandSpark's 2010 Best New Products Awards American Grocery Shopper Study. It was conducted between Oct. 12 and Dec. 8 with more than 50,000 grocery shoppers.

The poll found that the majority of shoppers "completely agree" or "agree" that "private labels are usually extremely good value for the money" (66%) and "private labels are just as good as brand name products" (59%).

"Private label's strength is holding," said Robert Levy, president of BrandSparks while presenting the findings here Tuesday. "It's not just about price. People have a very strong sense of agreement that they provide good value for the money."

But they're not for everyone. Thirty-six percent of shoppers consider themselves loyal to national brands. BrandSpark gauged shoppers' opinions about 135 new products. Respondents indicated how likely they were to recommend each of the brands to their friends.

Those scoring most favorably were Yoplait Smoothie, Johnson's Baby Bubble Bath & Wash and Olay Professional Pro-X Intensive Wrinkle Protocol. These items and 39 others earned the right to bear the 2010 Best New Product designation, which includes the Better Homes and Gardens logo.

A portion of the survey sample was sourced from the magazine's online shopper panels.

The following article is from Progressive Grocer, and it describes some innovative promotions by Food Lion and Bloom, which are owned by the Delhaize Group.  The article follows...

Food Lion, Bloom Run Money-saving Private Brand Promotion

Jan 20, 2010

Food Lion and Bloom shoppers can now earn as much as $10 in free groceries every time they buy private brand products. Whenever they shop at Food Lion or Bloom during the Private Brand Super Sale and buy at least four Food Lion, Bloom or Home 360 items using a Food Lion MVP or Bloom Breeze card, they receive a money-saving coupon. Customers get $1 in coupons for the first four private brand products they buy, and 25 cents back for each additional private brand product they purchase -- up to $10 - during the promotion, which runs through Feb. 2.

During the first week of the program, which began Jan. 6, customers amassed over $180,000 in free groceries.

"Food Lion, LLC wants to put money back in customers' pockets by rewarding our loyal customers," noted Shavonne Clark, Food Lion's director of private brands for Salisbury, N.C.-based Delhaize Group - U.S. "Our sales trends show consumers are using more private brand products, and this is one way we can thank customers who use Food Lion, Bloom and Home 360 private brand products. We also want to provide additional incentive for customers who may not have tried our private brand products."

The promotion enables shoppers to use their MVP or Breeze loyalty cards to take advantage of lower prices available by buying their preferred private brand products. The coupons are redeemable on customers' next grocery bill. Shoppers can find full details of the promotion online at www.FoodLion.com or www.ShopBloom.com.

Expanded last year, the Home 360 brand includes housewares, paper and detergents; dog and cat food, treats and accessories; and diapers, wipes and toiletries.

"In today's economy, we are focused on providing the best quality and value for our customers, and purchasing private brand products is one solution," observed Clark. "Our private brand products meet and often exceed national brand equivalents. Milk, cheese, eggs, bottled water and soft drinks are among some of the most popular items purchased by customers, and all of these items will result in savings for customers during this special promotion."

The promotion has been rolled out in all Food Lion and Bloom markets except for some locations in Richmond, Va.; Tri-Cities, Tenn.; Roanoke, Va.; Augusta, Ga.; Bluefield, W. Va.; and Macon, Ga.

A subsidiary of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, Food Lion, LLC operates more than 1,300 supermarkets, either directly or through affiliated entities, under the names of Food Lion, Bloom, Bottom Dollar Food, Harveys and Reid's, and employs about 74,000 associates in 11 Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. Bloom operates 65 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Virginia.

From an Adweek article.  The recession store brands (private label) continue to gain ground.

Consumers Defect From Iconic Brands

Loyalty deteriorates further in tough times

Dec 16, 2009

- eMarketer Staff

Vince DeNezza s a Business Development Manager for Daymon Worldwide, a company who claims to be the world's leading private brand broker.  Vince handles accounts for Giant Food Stores, among others.  He was in Spiro Stefanou's undergard class (AG BM 440) on New Product Development yesterday (Nov. 11).

Among the interesting details was the three-tier private label branding and positioning that many retailers follow: 

1.  The top tier is called premium or differentiated.  This is high quality but also highly differentiated.

2. The middle tier is National Brand Equivalent (NBE).  This is meant to mimic the national brand in both quality and feature.

3. The low tier is often called Value brands.  This is meant to be a low-priced, low quality alternative to the national brand.  As for features, it often is different in packaging and size.

Here's a brief idea of the three tiers.

From the Adweek web site comes the following story on cupons.  It's particularly relevant to research underway by AEREC student Ping-Chao Wu, who is looking compeition between food manufacturers and retailers.  The story notes that consumers most often get their coupons from the Sunday newspapers.  These would be manufactuers' cupons. However, the story notes that in-store coupons and coupons on receipts are also very prevalent.  These would be retailer coupons.  Ping-Chao's work investigates, among other things, couponing strageties for both manufactuers and retailers. --T.J. 

eMarketer: Coupons Surge as Recession Lingers

Nov 4, 2009

- eMarketer Staff

As the economic downturn drags on, more consumers are using coupons to purchase consumer packaged goods. That covers everything from their favorite cereals, canned goods, jarred sauces, frozen dinners and snacks to paper products, household cleaners, laundry soap, shampoo and other personal care items.

In the current recession, coupon usage cuts across socio-economic lines --consumers are seeking any savings they can find.

CPG marketers and retail chains are testing mobile coupon delivery, but substantial technology upgrades will be required at points of sale to effect wide-scale deployment, according to eMarketer.

Per comScore, most consumers still get their coupons from Sunday fliers (47 percent), while in-store penetration ranked second (at 43 percent) and coupons printed on store receipts placed third (41 percent).