From the Trading Post to Amazon · Episode 5 of 12 · 22 min
Coupons and Green Stamps: The History of Customer Loyalty
A free glass of Coca-Cola in 1887, a book of Green Stamps in the kitchen drawer, and a card that knows what you buy are one idea refined over 130 years. The episode covers Candler's drink tickets, the first cents-off coupon, S&H Green Stamps, the psychology behind them, frequent-flyer miles and the Tesco Clubcard, and a loyalty card as a data tool, ending with the FTC's 2025 findings on surveillance pricing.
Who's who
- Asa G. CandlerAtlanta druggist who issued free-drink tickets for Coca-Cola from 1887-88
- C.W. PostCereal entrepreneur credited with the first cents-off grocery coupon
- Thomas SperryCo-founder of Sperry & Hutchinson, the Green Stamps company
- Shelley Byron HutchinsonCo-founder of Sperry & Hutchinson, the Green Stamps company
- Joseph McKennaJustice who wrote the 1916 opinion upholding a tax on trading stamps
- George ValassisInvented the Sunday coupon insert in 1972
- Clark L. HullYale psychologist whose experiments produced the goal gradient
- Clive HumbyAnalyst behind the Tesco Clubcard data program
Where it happens
- Atlanta, Georgia+10 more episodesWhere Coca-Cola's free-drink tickets began
- Jackson, MichiganWhere the first Green Stamps went to a shopper in 1896
Timeline
- 1887-88Candler issues tickets for a free glass of Coca-Cola
- 1896Sperry & Hutchinson founded; first Green Stamps issued
- March 6, 1916Supreme Court upholds Florida's license tax on trading stamps
- 1963-64Green Stamps peak, saved by more than 60 percent of American consumers
- May 1, 1981American Airlines launches AAdvantage
- January 17, 2025FTC releases initial findings on surveillance pricing
Still debated
Coca-Cola's free-drink figures come from company history with no independent audit, and Post's coupon date varies between 1895 and 1909. Whether trading stamps raised food prices has no consensus, and the weighting of reasons for the stamps' demise is interpretive.