This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure here.
Kroger announced officially this weekend that they are ending the doubling of coupons in the Mid Atlantic Region. This will be replaced with new “lower prices”. All coupon doubles will end on 5/12 in stores in:
Charleston, WV
Richmond, VA
Roanoke, VA
Raleigh/Durham, NC
What does this mean for deals?
For those you that are still near Lowes Foods and Harris Teeter, this isn’t a hard decision. Kroger will probably lose your business. From what we have seen in other regions already affected by this new “lower prices” plan, the prices didn’t change much at all and it wasn’t enough to get you to remain loyal to them. Head to other stores that still run great promotions with coupons and allow stacking of store coupons and manufacturer coupons.
For those that don’t live near another store that doubles… I would recommend that you start price matching normal Kroger deals at Walmart. Why? Rather than heading to Kroger to get the deals they are running you could take all your grocery ads from around town and grab it all in one place. It makes for a bigger savings when you add in the produce and meat deals that other stores had and not having to drive all over to get them.
There is one exception – when Kroger runs promotional events like this weeks Procter & Gamble event, Walmart will not price match instant savings deals. So you if you want those items, you would still need to shop in Kroger.
What about other Regions?
We have seen Kroger drop doubling in 3 other regions in the last year. They already didn’t double in 3 regions… that really only leaves 3 regions left. Will it come out in the last 3 areas? I can’t say for sure but I won’t be surprised if the Delta region isn’t next, followed by the Louisville (Mid-South) Region.
While I think it would be a PR nightmare, I won’t be surprised if the Atlanta (South) Region is last. Can Kroger compete in areas with Publix stores that double, accept competitor coupons, and have tons of store coupons? They can because of the numbers that don’t coupon at all, but their coupon users will probably disappear.
What will you do? Does this change your shopping plans or not affect you much?
