The Defense Commissary Agency is making Internet coupon links available under a new section on the
links page at www.commissaries.com. Along
with Web sites for military grocery coupons, the new section has a link for customers who prefer more
traditional coupons. Another link offers commissary shoppers the opportunity to sign up for coupons by
mail. The most common coupons offered are free-standing inserts, or FSIs, typically inserted in
newspapers or available at the commissary. But the use of Internet coupons has grown substantially,
with redemption rates rivaling FSIs. Commissaries and other grocery retailers had stopped accepting
home-printed coupons in Sept. 2003 due to instances of fraud, but, despite the industry ban, consumer
use of Internet coupons flourished in general. All 273 commissaries worldwide now accept
computer-generated Internet coupons as long as they have a bar code for scanning purposes, and do not
offer a free product.
