Livonia, Mich. - Valassis, one of the nation's leading media and marketing services companies,announced today that shoppers saved $3.7 billion with coupons in 2010, according to the Annual Topline U.S. CPG Coupon Facts Report for Year-end 2010, released by NCH Marketing Services, Inc., a Valassis company. An additional $200 million was saved in 2010, representing a 5.7% increase from 2009.

In 2010, marketers distributed more consumer packaged goods (CPG) coupons than the prior year, reaching 332 billion - the largest single-year distribution quantity ever recorded in the United States, exceeding last year's prior record by 6.8% or 21 billion coupons.

"Marketers are distributing more coupons in the marketplace to reach today's value-centric consumer," said Suzie Brown, Valassis Chief Marketing Officer. "For years, we have heard that the consumer is king and this rings so true today. Shopping and savings go hand in hand."

Overall, 87.7% of all coupons were distributed in 2010 in the free-standing insert (FSI) coupon booklet. The FSI total growth was 19 billion coupons, the largest volume increase of all media, according to the NCH report. The second largest share of coupons distributed was via handout in-store media, amounting to 5.2% of the 2010 total. NCH also reported a 37% increase in the number of digital coupon offers.

In addition, the report indicates marketers continue to modify their offering characteristics. The following offer trends reveal:

- An average $1.46 face value distributed, representing a 6.6% increase from 2009;
- 26% required the purchase of two or more items to obtain the offer discount; and
- 9.1 weeks average expiration, approximately a week and a half shorter than the prior year, a 14.2% decrease.

Redemption volume in the United States grew 3.1% to 3.3 billion CPG coupons in 2010. According to the report, the largest coupon redemption volume growth is in the retail segment, representing 25% growth. The increasing trend in consumer use of coupons was further supported by NCH's Consumer Survey, finding that frugal consumer shopping habits as a result of the recession continued in 2010, maintaining overall high consumer coupon use and an increasing regularity of coupon use. In 2010, the survey reveals that 78.3% regularly use coupons compared to 77% in 2009, 75.8% in 2008 and 63.6% of consumers in the pre-recession survey of 2007.

"Consumer demand for coupons remained high in 2010 as shopping habits created during the most recent recessionary period sustained throughout the sluggish economic recovery that occurred during the year," said Charlie Brown, NCH Vice President of Marketing. "In fact, a third of the respondents in NCH's Annual Consumer Survey said that they used more coupons in 2010 than the prior year."