“Extreme couponers,” well-known for saving big bucks on groceries and other items, have surged in numbers during the current economic recession. But their cost-saving, deal-making obsession is translating into profit losses for some retailers, who are also struggling in this economy.
By Timothy W. Martin
Wall Street Journal
Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.
No, Ms. Smith isn’t stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old’s apartment is stuffed with groceries because she’s one of a growing flock of “extreme couponers.”
These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge.
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