FollowOn September 1/2012, Walmart implemented some changes to the register system as well as their internal coupon policy. This was done more to clarify and implement the proper procedure for coupon acceptance. No changes have been made to the actual Walmart Coupon Policy.
Walmart Coupon Policy Changes:
1. Walmart has updated their registers to accept the GS1 Date bar Codes that most coupons have switched to.
2. Coupons must be scanned on the flatbed scanners. All other types of scanners will not be accepted.
3. Coupons must be able to be scanned. No employee of Walmart is allowed to manually enter coupons.
4. Employees of Walmart must return the coupon to you, if they are unable to scan it. This includes all forms of coupons, such as newspaper inserts and printable coupons.
Reasons for these changes:
1. Coupon Fraud: Did you know that Walmart loses approximately $10,000 a month in coupon fraud per store. With 4,000 stores in the US, that amounts to $40,000,000 a month…WOW that is a lot of money to be losing.
2. Employee Coupon Fraud: Rumor has it that some employees have also perpetrated coupon fraud within the store.
3. Coupon Bar Decoding: This is a form of coupon fraud. Changes have been made so that old bar codes will no longer be accepted. The new GS1 bar codes can only be accepted and applied to the products they were intended for.
How Does This Affect You?
1. Both a negative and a positive: No longer do the cashiers make a decision whether or not to accept a coupon. If your coupon scans, you are in luck and Walmart will accept the coupon. If the computer cannot scan it, too bad, you are out of luck, and the coupon will be returned to you.
2. Make sure that your printable coupon is legible. This means that it must be printed at a high quality setting. Make sure all parts of the coupon is visible and legible. This will help to ensure that your coupon will be accepted and not declared a fraud.
3. Hopefully, we will soon see the return of higher value coupons as the changes implemented reduce the amount of dollars lost by Walmart each month due to coupon fraud.
