Image Courtesy of Stop & Shop
December 20, 2024
Do Grocers Like Stop & Shop Need Digital Coupon Dispensers?
Citing a goal to “bridge the digital divide,” Stop & Shop is rolling out Savings Station kiosks inside stores to enable shoppers to secure digital coupons without a smartphone or computer.
The kiosks arrive amid complaints that shifts to emphasize digital coupons over traditional paper ones from newspaper inserts limit access to savings to technologically challenged older and lower-income Americans.
To use, Stop & Shop customers scan their GO Rewards loyalty card or enter their phone number into the kiosk to load their digital coupons and activate personal offers based on their shopping history. Customers are able to receive a printout of their digital coupons if they want to reference it while they shop.
As with digital coupons loaded onto shopper accounts via smartphone or computer, savings are automatically applied at checkout when shoppers scan their card or enter their phone number.
“This rollout marks another change we’re making to remove friction and improve the shopping experience for our customers,” said Roger Wheeler, president of Stop & Shop, in a statement. “We heard from customers who felt they were missing out on valuable digital coupon savings, and the Savings Station is our response to that feedback. It ensures that our customers can easily access all of our great deals, especially during the holiday season when savings are top of mind.”
The kiosks will also feature additional content for shoppers, including recipes and and “fun print out activities for keeping kids entertained while shopping.”
Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org who has long called out the challenges those without internet access or smartphones face securing digital coupons, said in the statement, “We salute Stop & Shop for making digital coupons more accessible to everyone.”
Legislators in New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Rhode Island are proposing laws requiring stores offering digital coupons to also make an “in-store alternative of identical value” available. Legislation proposed in Massachusetts and Washington state would automatically apply digital coupons to all shoppers.
According to Inmar Intelligence, digital load-to-card (L2C) coupon redemptions at U.S. grocery stores exceeded those of traditional paper free-standing inserts (FSIs) for the first time in 2020, a shift accelerated by the pandemic.
In phasing out print inserts in newspapers and weekly mailers in 2023, Kroger said the move reflected declining newspaper circulation. Kroger’s print version of the flier is still available inside stores, and digital deals can be accessed at each store’s customer service desk.
Grocers save money by phasing out paper coupons, but digital coupons also provide rich insights into shoppers’ spending habits to optimize personalized offers. Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s CEO, said on the grocer’s third-quarter analyst call, “Digital offers are an important way we deliver savings to customers, and engagement continues to grow with 5% more digital offer clips so far this year, and that has led to 14% more savings for Kroger customers.”
Discussion Questions
Do you see more benefits than drawbacks to Stop & Shop’s move to install in-store kiosks offering access to digital coupons?
Should other grocers follow suit?
How important is it for grocers to encourage digital engagement, including in securing coupons?
Poll
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John Karolefski
Editor-in-Chief, CPGmatters
Michael Zakkour
Founder - 5 New Digital &International Marketing Lead at UNILEVER
Gene Detroyer
Professor, International Business, Guizhou University of Finance & Economics and University of Sanya, China.
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Should other grocers follow suit? Hell YES!!! Digital coupons have zoomed to the top of my most hated list, surpassing even the “Kars 4 Kids” spots (and that’s saying something…none of it good)
Perhaps we can take this all the way back to square one: why, again, do we even need this lilly gilding exercise: isn’t the whole point of a membership that one gets the perks automatically ?? Do we really need to say “please” too?
There are a lot of people, mostly older but not totally, who do not have access to digital coupons because they do not know how to utilize Apps or simply do not want to. The bypass of coupon dispensors will equalize the situation and not shut out some customers. Most of the customers who do not have access will simply choose a competitor who does not have obstacles to saving, resulting in lost potential sales.
Yes, there should be ‘analog’ alternatives of digital coupons. However, I don’t think it’s a matter for legislation. Although, it has to be said, that Stop & Shop’s solution sounds faffy. Just automatically apply the coupons at the register.
I am with you – I do not understand the added friction associated with select retailers’ implementation of loyalty / reward programs. Traditional mass promotions & more targeted discounts should be automatically implemented at checkout (post user verification). Both parties win – retailers extend their reach while also developing additional 1st party data for higher future yield and shoppers benefit by maximizing their purchasing power at these retailers (for items of interest).
I will start by saying 90% or more of today’s consumers, all ages, are savvy enough to use mobile phones and apps to secure discounts. The “elderly” are not as out of the loop as they used to be, as almost anyone under today’s age 80, has used mobile phones and computers since most of the phones were Motorola, and even before “Prodigy Internet.” Consumers in this age group were using floppy disks to play “Wheel of Fortune” on their “IBM-compatibles.” You’re welcome for the nostalgia! Keep in mind that people in that age group learned how to use computers when their own kids were in first grade.
Still, stores are hearing the complaints from the 5% or so, who don’t carry mobile phones, nor use apps. Therefore, if Stop & Shop adds “Savings Stations” that is fine, but not as a complete replacement for digital. To do that would be a huge error.
Fact is, digital will still be overwhelmingly more popular. Without digital, some customers shop elsewhere because they don’t have time to hang out at a “station” to get their discounts.
Coupon distribution and redemption need all the help possible. If digital coupons are the future, then Stop & Shop’s effort is on the right track.
In-store coupon kiosks are hardly a new idea. Inter-Act operated a network of print-on-demand dispensers in more than 2,000 supermarkets as far back as 1997. They were touted then as an alternative to loyalty cards for delivering manufacturer deals. There were other imitators as well.
Then – and I imagine now – the kiosk presented something of a choke point in the store’s entry lobby. Shoppers need to pause at the screen before they shop, select offers, then print them out. One-shopper-at-a-time.
At the end of the shopping process, each paper coupon must be scanned at the POS and matched to the actual item purchased, also a source of friction.
Far easier for all concerned for shoppers to present a loyalty card at checkout and have all the relevant discounts applied. Even the tech-averse can usually handle that.
I share a pet peeve with others here about requiring shoppers to individually activate certain discounts at the shelf, by scanning QR codes using the frequent shopper app. Why do some deals automatically populate my app when others require this extra step? Even when the process works correctly, it feels like a small punishment for loyalty.
Kiosks can certainly be used to dispense coupons to non-loyalty members. To me, that seems like the slow “cash only” lane at a bridge tollbooth. For everyone else, the loyalty card should be as friction-free as an E-ZPass.
Digital coupon or kiosk coupon…convoluted. Why not tell the shopper there is a price reduction and give it to them?
The problems go beyond making it difficult for older or less tech-savvy shoppers. There are many instances where the digital coupon is rejected at the register.
Digital coupons have made savings more convenient, but they’ve also left some customers – especially older shoppers or those without smartphones – out of the loop. The Savings Station kiosks are a smart way to bridge that gap. More grocers should follow suit to enhance accessibility.