Mommy Blogger Teams With Hy-Vee

JULIE GALLAGHER

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — Hy-Vee and mommy blogger Tracie Fobes go together just about as well as the manufacturer coupons Fobes matches up with Hy-Vee sale items for visitors to Hyvee.com. Ten to 12 new matchups are presented each week with links to online coupons or information about where to find paper coupons.

Last week General Mills cereal was on sale at Hy-vee for two for $5, but could be purchased for $1.75 each after coupons. Shoppers who purchased three boxes earned a coupon for free milk.

“I'm helping people save money, which makes them want to go to Hy-Vee,” Fobes said.

Indeed, the feature is receiving a lot of attention.

“With absolutely no promotional effort it quickly became one of the top 10 most visited pages on our site,” said spokeswoman Ruth Comer.

Before approaching Hy-Vee with the idea to partner, Fobes — who has a blog at kcpennypinchinmama.com — was posting matchups for deals at Wal-Mart, Target and CVS on her site.

Hy-Vee agreed to share its sales circular two days in advance so that she could provide the service for Hy-Vee.

“Hy-Vee is out nothing since they've already put together the ad,” she said.

The two hours it takes to put the deals together is worthwhile for Fobes since she posts a more extensive list of Hy-Vee matchups on her site. New deals are posted on both Hyvee.com and Fobes' site Wednesday mornings.