Coca-Cola's 1888-issued "free glass of"

Origin

During the great famine of 18 AH (638 CE), Umar, the second ruler of the Islamic Caliphate, introduced several reforms such as the introduction of food rationing using coupons, which were given to those in need and could be exchanged for wheat and flour.^[5]

Believed to be the first coupon ever, this ticket for a free glass of Coca-Cola was first distributed in 1888 to help promote the drink. By 1913, the company had redeemed 8.5 million tickets.^[6]

Coca-Cola's 1888-issued "free glass of" is the earliest documented coupon.^[6][7] Coupons were mailed to potential customers and placed in magazines. It is estimated that between 1894 and 1913 one in nine Americans had received a free Coca-Cola, for a total of 8,500,000 free drinks. By 1895 Coke was served in every state in the United States.^[8]

In 1929, Betty Crocker began a loyalty points program and began issuing coupons that could be used to redeem for premiums like free flatware. In 1937 the coupons were printed on the outside of packages. The loyalty program ended in 2006, one of the longest loyalty programs.^[9]

In Australia consumers first^{[dubious – discuss]} came in contact with couponing when a company called Shopa Docket promoted offers and discounts on the back of shopping receipts in 1986.^[10]

Types and uses

Coupons offer different types of values, such as discounts, free shipping, buy-one get-one, trade-in for redemption, first-time customer coupons, free trial offer, launch offers, festival offers, and free giveaways. Similarly, there are varied uses of coupons which include: to incentivize a purchase, reduce a price, provide a free sample,^[11] or to aid marketers in understanding the demographics of their customer.

Function

Coupons can be used to research the price sensitivity of different groups of buyers (by sending out coupons with different dollar values to different groups). Time, location and sizes (e.g. five pound vs. 20 pound bag)^[12] affect prices; coupons are part of the marketing mix.^[13] So is knowing about the customer.^[14][12]

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