What Promo/Coupon Gets You In The Store

[FallenPixels]

When I first started couponing, I would visit several stores each week, pick up the deals there and check for coupons etc but now my time is limited and I choose more carefully, price matching for most deals.

- Rexall: A few years ago I never ever went to Rexall, SDM was closer and you all know I love my Optimum card but since moving, its local and on my way home. I still never shop unless there is a $5 WUS $25 coupon available or a big Air Miles deal

- SDM: 20x or if I need enough items that are reasonably priced, 18,500 wus $75. My personalized coupons are rarely enough to get me in the store

- PC Plus & Sobeys Points: These offers and coupons are rarely enough to make me drag myself to one of their stores. We only have Fortinos, so no PMing at RCSS for me to make PC Plus worthwhile and the offers really are not targetted enough to make me shop.
I find most of my shopping is done at FreshCo, Walmart keeps changing their policies and are often out of stock. Then if I am near another store during the week, I quickly check for coupons and maybe pick up a few bits.

What gets you in the store? Do you go by the weekly deals? Always PM at a certain store? Are you points mad and rack up PC Plus, Air Miles, etc?

Do you find the coupons sent (personalized SDM, PC Plus offers etc) are enough to get you in the store?

[Natalka]

When the flyers come out, make out my master shopping list, then see which coupons I have to use.

Then, what stores we end up shopping at out of these are most probably for the things we need most at a decent price.
Usually end up at SDM weekly, even without their coupons. It's been ages since I've done a 20X or WUS event - never spend that much at once.

Do most of groceries at Sobeys, secondly at Co-op when they have a decent sale, sometimes at Extra Foods. Points at Sobeys and Extra aren't wonderful, don't go there specifically for those points items.

Yesterday was a rare Safeway shop - usually their prices are too high, sales aren't wonderful.
Now it's made even harder since recently they've closed two of their stores closest to us, and we really have to go out of our way to go there. However, were I rich, I'd shop at Safeway all the time!

[acosta]

Usually the sales, combined with points and if I can price match.

For example, I will shop at RCSS because it's up the street from me, has good produce. I have my points card there, and I can price match good sales.

SDM brings me in with points, plus sales/personalized offers (really cheap). I think I have over $400 of points racked up. I will also participate in 20x for $50 spent because I need some groceries and paper products that are very reasonably priced there.

[trishka]

It's mostly just sales with coupons and potential CO51 combos that get me in. If a certain product is on sale I usually try to go to that store, but if the store is too far, I go somewhere that I can price match and have little issues doing so. I usually end up at Walmart or Freshco (if its on my lunch) because its closest/easily accessible. The No Frills near me is very small and busy and often lacks stock so its hard to know if they carry that specific brand to price match and if it will be in stock.

My personalized SDM offers are usually enough for me to get in the store, but I usually just by eggs and the lactose free milk that goes on sale most of the time. The personalized offers are starting to repeat themselves, but I can always use TP. I've gotten quite a bit of free stuff from there since I started getting the offers.

[dizzyb]

For SDM: 20X promos with sale priced cheese, eggs, butter and milk.

[Peachykeen2007]

Honestly where ever is the cheapest! All the top stores are within a 5 minute drive so it doesn't matter to me as I will just go to that one, I rarely have a need to price match - only time I do is if I am price matching out of province

[Anna Michele]

Well I like you OP have no RCSS within a reasonable distance so the pc offers have never been good enough to get me to pay Fortinoes pricing, I went today to get flyer items all the items have been discontinued wHAAAAT its in the flyer and thats what got me in the store GrACE products they lady said people have been asking and they may start carrying thrme again
i left with nothing

SO
A great deal gets me in the store

Like someone has already said pm'ing can be tough what if its not in stock size, brand etc

Target is doing a great job of getting me in there, ive been regularly stocking up on Oasis orange juice this week and will probably continue to do so until the end of Aug when the coupon expires lol
i can pm at target no problems, I just wish they had fresh meat and produce.

Lococos is great cuz i can go and not worry about coming home witha bunch of junk food or things i dont need, I can easily walk out just around 20 spent each time. They built one around the corner and its close enought o say il just go to lococos and skip walmart

Location Location Location

[Silk]

Prices/Sales are most important to me, and even better if I have coupons and it’s a coupon-friendly store. Next is loyalty/rewards promotions but only if prices are decent. And like Anna Michele, location is important to me. I shop mostly at stores that are walking distance from me since I don’t have a car and otherwise would have to pay bus fare. But often I will pass up a sale, or walk to a store at a further location, or price match elsewhere to avoid shopping at a particular store that has rude staff or management.


Whenever possible, I price match at Target because I have their credit card which gives me 5% off. I also want to support the store because of their financial problems since I want to see Target stick around.


Silk

[torontogal12]

Our office moved recently and I have a metropass so I literally go by Loblaws, Rexall, SDM and Longo''s and can get off whenever I want. Sad that a Metro is no longer on my route home but there's a Freshco where I can PM stuff now and before I could PM NOTHING because there were no stores close by.

I do like Freshco a lot. Lots of $1 deals for veggies

The SDM personalized offers have not been luring me in lately much either. I checked my activity history and I only shopped there once in the last 6 weeks which really shocked me. It must be the Loblaws factor, but they did send me coupons for eggs and cereal which got me in this week and I spent $20 on junk food while I was there, so that promo worked.

It seems there are rarely deals for fresh items in the summer and that's the stuff I want to be buying. I don't mind frozen pizza or frozen chicken in the winter, but in the summer I don't want it.

Sobeys got me in twice recently when they put the Blue Goose chicken to $5.99/lb. Then while I was there I just did the rest of my groceries.

[annedougherty]

I'm all about price matching everything I can at Target. I find plenty of other things at amazing prices that save me from wasting my time searching at other stores for a reasonable deal. A very small No Frills is opening next door to the Target nearest me, which will be a life saver for picking things Target doesn't have, and Freshco will soon be opening across the street. This is pretty much all I need. When we move into our house at the end of Sept, SDM is literally right there, and open till midnight, so I forsee popping into there more often.

[GeorgiaK]

Since my time is more limited now, I go to Maxi & Cie and do 95% of my shopping there since they have a great coupon policy and price matching is a breeze. Walmart keeps changing their policies and I only go to SDM when I can redeem (Note: I have an Optimum Point Mastercard). The PC Plus program is not enough to get me to go to Loblaws or Provigo. Target is 25 minutes away on a good day, lately, traffic is hell due to construction. Everywhere else is just not enough specials to get me to drive out of my way.

[Shwa Girl]

I like new store openings.
Even a free reusable bag at store openings gets me into the store

[Mia]

If I had to choose between sale or spend $$$ and get more points, I would go with a sale. Because I consider all those points or Air Miles as a weak excuse for those pricey items which other stores have on less price even without sales. But if the same stores, which gives points and have items for the same sales price as another one, I would go with "points-giving" store.

But on the other hand, if a store which has items on sale +points but is located very far from me, I would go to a store which is closer to me (but minus points) and would do a price matching. Because no points can beat sky high gas prices.

[Granger]

Price of cheese. Nothing else matters. lol.

[i_forget]

I go through the flyers ad see what everyone has on sale. I then go to Costco and get the bulk of my shopping because my kids are picky and I generally make the same meals every week. If items I usually buy are on sale, I will make a trip to either Food Basics, FreshCo or No Frills and get the items. If there are multiple stores, I will ad match so I do not have to hit a 3rd store.

I was a bit irked when Costco stopped selling Cracker Barrel cheese bars and started getting the Black Diamond ones in, however if no one has cheese on sale, I will get the Old and it is close enough to the Cracker Barrel medium.

The only time I go into Metro is when I am buying their pizza from Fresh to go or I am spending all the air miles I accumulate from the LCBO

I do SDM when they have a really good 20x the points event.

No RCSS in my city, we have a Zehrs. I go there for my prescriptions and when I need something that they have the bonus points for.