More than 99 percent of coupons are thrown away, so why do they exist?

More than 320 billion paper coupons were distributed in the U.S. last year, but less than .4 percent (yes, that’s four-tenths of 1 percent) of them were redeemed. So why do manufacturers spend valuable resources to make and distribute them? One big reason: Coupons are a useful weapon in the behind-the-scenes battle manufacturers often wage with retailers to get new products on the shelf.

Catch up on last week’s episode of Compound Interested here.