The other day, I was in RiteAid when I noticed some confusing sales tag in the aisles. Certain skincare items were on sale this week; to promote these items, there were yellow shelf tags reading "$1.50 savings" posted (more or less) below the item.

But what happened when they attempted to do double coupon savings? RiteAid often has clip-out coupons within their print ads; if you're lucky, your desired sale item might get this additional discount. This week, for example, Eucerin lotions price were cut by $1.50; there was also an in-ad coupon for additional $1.50.

You'd think RiteAid would print one sticker that read "$3.00 savings!" but instead, RiteAid got lost in confusion. I saw one sticker which read the following:

$1.50 savings
-$1.50 In-Ad savings
---------
0.00 total savings

Eh????

What it should've read:
$1.50 savings
+ $1.50 In-Ad savings
----------
$3.00 total savings

I saw yet another tag (on the same shelf, no less):

-$1.50 Less
-$1.50 Less with In-Ad Coupon
XXXXXXXX (no total "less")

Why all this tagging variation? Why the emphasis on being Good Student and adhering to the rules of addition/subtraction of negative numbers? Or is RiteAid following the strict rules of English rhetoric that say the words "less" or "savings" imply subtracting from a number?

It seems RiteAid is being a bit too smart for their own good!