September is National Coupon Month!

It seems that every month is something month these days, but according to the Promotional Marketing Association Educational Foundation, September is National Coupon Month. To help celebrate, I thought a little coupon history would be appropriate. It all started with Coca-Cola, perhaps we will have some good Coke coupons this month in honor of the money saving trend the company started.

UPDATE: Look what I found! A good Coca-Cola coupon! Don't forget that you can print it twice!

History of Coupons

1887: Coupons are born! John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, creates the recipe for the syrup used to make Coca-Cola and distributes free drink cards to people on the street encouraging them to try the new drink at a specific pharmacy.

1891: Asa Candler, the druggist who bought the formula for Coca-Cola for $2,300, arranges with pharmacies to direct mail account-specific coupons to customers for a free glass at the soda fountain.

1894: Coca-Cola converts their free coupon to the format most typical today — good anywhere the product is sold. Retailers send the redeemed coupons to Atlanta with proof-of-purchase of the syrup for reimbursement.

1895: Next stop, the local grocer! C.W. Post distributes the first cents-off coupon worth 1 penny toward his new health cereal, Grape Nuts.

1930s: Coupons are a staple in American households because of the Depression. Everyone needs to save money wherever possible and clipping coupons clips weekly grocery bills.

1940s: Supermarkets sprout across the country and continue the coupon tradition that had begun in neighborhood groceries.

1957: The Nielsen Coupon Clearing House becomes the first clearing house devoted to coupon redemption. Coupons have created a new industry.

1965: One-half of Americans are now coupon users.

1975: Coupon popularity continues to grow. Over 35 billion coupons are distributed and 65% of American households clip!

1998: America celebrates the first National Coupon Month. Children create art designs of their favorite coupons in the First Coupon Month Contest.

1999: Online coupons begin to gain momentum.

2000: Parents learn how to involve children in saving with coupons for National Coupon Month.

2008: 89% of consumers use coupons while shopping at supermarkets as a way to economize during a period of rising prices.

2009: A total of 311 billion coupons were distributed — the largest single-year distribution quantity ever recorded. Shoppers saved nearly $3.5 billion with coupons.

2010: Consumer packaged goods coupon distribution and redemption (as of first half) continue to build on record-breaking growth trends of 2009. Consumer purchase behavior points to a permanent shift toward value and saving as the United States recovers from the worst recession since the Great Depression.  

2011: First-half 2011 coupon redemption volume reached 1.75 billion, a moderate 2.9% increase compared to the first half of last year. In total, consumers saved $2 billion in the first six months of 2011.