February, 2011

Don't be so quick to chuck that stack of flyers in your local newspaper

Many people find the enormous stack of flyers dominating our local newspapers extremely annoying. They complain that a majority of the flyers are from out-of-area grocery and retail chains and that their presence here harms local stores. Very true.

Still, other consumers wanting to get to the news, promptly discard the entire stack. Others go as far as not to read the newspapers at all in an act of protest.

The environmentally conscious (and we all are to varying extents) raise the point about the use of so much paper. After all weren't we once told that computers would usher in a paperless society? Even though many chains publish electronic versions of their flyers online, it would appear that most consumers haven't migrated to that way of thinking yet.

Others, however, live for the flyers' arrival on their front steps, because it means that upon diving into their pages they will locate deals that are bound to leave them giddy with the potential of often outstanding savings!

And the best part? More times than not, you can use these coupons right here in our community. Smart shoppers (sometimes referred to as 'clippers') are aware of the local chains who will honour their competitor's flyers and advertised prices. And the savings can be large.

Local consumer's tell stories of regularly saving $60 to $80 off their weekly grocery shopping bills by prudently going through the pile of flyers beforehand and forming a strategic plan of attack when shopping.

Whether that's good or bad for the local economy is no doubt a matter of opinion, but love 'em or hate 'em, flyers appear to have made themselves part of our lives, so use them if you can.

by ShopInCaledon staff