Every few weeks certain stores seem to run special sales. These sales consist of buying a certain number of products to get a discount at checkout. Kroger is famous for having what is called a Mega Event. Other stores have special sales too- although not as frequent. There is a strategy for shopping these special sales to maximize your savings.
Have a Plan
Before you hit the store, come up with a game plan at home. There are so many bloggers that cover store deals. Find someone that covers the store you shop at and use their list to help you find the deals.
Organize and clip your coupons. I pull the coupons I plan to use out of my binder. I place them in a baseball card holder organizing sheet so that I can visually see them as I walk through the store.
Have a Backup Plan
Sometimes things won’t go as planned. I always head to the store with an alternate plan in case items are out of stock. Have extra coupons on hand just in case. I always bring my coupon binder with me even though I have already pulled out the coupons I will be using.
Look for Unadvertised Deals
Kroger is famous for only listing a few of the participating items in the weekly ad. However throughout the store there will be tags on items that say something like “participating item”. Unadvertised deals are another reason to have a backup plan- you may find a better deal once you get to the store!
Read the Fine Print
Make sure you understand the promotion. Sometimes there will be a limit on how many times you can do the promotion. The weekly circular usually says if there is a limit. At Kroger, most Mega Events are unlimited as long as you purchase in groups of 10.
All of the items most likely need to be purchased in the same transaction and you will need a shoppers card (store card).
Keep Track
One of the hardest tasks is keeping track of the items. Sometimes Harris Teeter will run events that require purchasing 20 items in one transaction. It is tough to keep everything straight, remember to get all of your items, keep track of the kids and your coupons!
There are two ways to keep track- use a tally sheet or use a handheld basket. For the tally sheet, just make a hash mark every time you add a participating item to your basket. For the handheld basket method, place items in the basket until you get the required number of items. Once you reach the number, dump the items in the handheld basket into your push cart and start over.
As I place the items on the conveyor belt at checkout, I recount.
Check Your Receipt
Before you leave the store, check you receipt. Make sure that you have received credit for the promotional sale. If you did not, head over to customer service. Don’t worry- I have had to do this numerous times! Sometimes it’s because I bought the wrong size product and sometimes I can’t figure out what went wrong. Whatever the reason, customer service usually takes care of it no problem. If you are missing one item, just grab the cheapest participating item for the promotion and buy an additional product. You will then get the credit you are owed.
Look for Additional Coupons
Kroger usually run their Mega Events for two weeks in a row. This is wonderful! It gives you time to look for additional coupons. Check out the Sunday coupon insert schedule to determine what the expected coupons are for the next week. The coupons are usually listed by Thursday for the next week. It also gives you time to order Sunday insert coupons from The Q Hunter. Currently they are offering 20% off your first order for new customers with coupon code 20offFirst.
Remember that knowing your prices will help you determine if the promotional sale is worth it. Most of the time I see some items at stockup price while others are mediocre. If you are new to couponing, make sure to checkout the other Couponing 101 posts!
How do you prepare for a Mega Event or Special Store Promotion?
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