Publix has lifted its ban on some computer-generated coupons.
The chain’s 851 supermarkets will again accept cents-off coupons printed from the Internet. But Lakeland, FL-based Publix still won’t accept “free product” coupons distributed online.
“Typically, Internet coupons are for cents off a product,” said Publix spokesperson Maria Brous.
Publix, along with Kroger and other grocers, banned computer-generated coupons in some stores last year to curb fraud (March 2004 PROMO). Retailers complained that it was too hard to distinguish legitimate online coupons from frauds. A rash of counterfeit couponing began in Atlanta in November 2003 and spread from there, primarily in the Southeast.
One online distributor applauded the move.
“Online coupon usage has tripled in the past year and will continue to flourish as more retailers accept online coupons to keep customers in the competitive grocery retail world,” said Les Howe, president-CEO of Consumer Networks, which distributes Boodle coupons through the Web sites of nearly 300 newspapers nationally.
Network
