co+op deals hack #2 Two Ad Tuesdays
If you don’t already know about my first hack regarding combining co+op deals and our case purchase program, refresh your memory here.
Now we are going to go a little deeper into the sales cycle chaining game.
There will always be two co+op deals ads per month. Sometimes they will cover three weeks, sometimes they will cover two weeks, it depends on how many weeks there are in the month and how NCG decides to split things up. You can always tell the sales period by looking at the top of the sales ad. The sales cycle will start on a Wednesday and go to a Tuesday. This is because all sales cycles start on Wednesdays. So if you are a sales only shopper you can figure out when those two Wednesdays are and shop twice per month.
However, there is one more step that I would like you to take a look at. It’s lovingly called Two Ad Tuesday. This is the Tuesday that ends each ad cycle. At Spiral Food Co-op we are a small crew so we need to find clever ways to reduce labor and make our lives easier. One of the things that we do is take advantage of overlapping the sales cycles by one day.
On the Tuesday that ends sales cycles we turn on all of the new sales on so that we can begin putting up the new sales signs. This gives us ample time to make sure that everything is properly in the system and marked as on sale. However, the sales form the sales cycle that is ending needs to stay active throughout the day. So there are effectively two sets of sales active on that Tuesday. Hence the name Two Ad Tuesday. Everything from both sales flyers are on sale during this one day so not only can you shop the new ad one day early, but you can also shop from the old ad and make sure you grab the last few items that you need before the sale ends.
If you are a coupon clipper this is a dream because you don’t have to shop on two separate days back to back to take advantage of a change in sales cycle. Essentially you can plan your big shops around days that will net you the most sales. That way you can fill your cart with items that are on deep discount and walk out of the store feeling satisfied that your pantry will be refreshed.
FAQ:
Q: If an item is on sale from the old sale flyer but it doesn't have a tag, is it still on sale?
A: Yes, if it is TwoAd Tuesday it is on sale. The reason that the sales tag may be missing is because we are in the process of taking down the old tags to make room for the new ones. It will still ring up as on sale at the register.
Q: Can I still buy cases on Two Ad Tuesday?
A: Yes! You can still buy cases as long as you already ordered them before the case deadline (which is the Saturday before the new ad cycle begins) or they are from the new sales cycle, there is no problem ordering cases.
Q: Can I look at the sales flyer ahead of time?
A: As soon as they become available to the store, I will post them online in the sales section. You will only be able to access future flyers online.