Kroger redeeming coupons via cell phones

This is taken from http://www.detnews.com/
Although I don't have a local Kroger, I find this very interesting!

Saturday, January 24, 2009
Kroger system redeems coupons from cell phones
Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News
Cutting a stack of coupons from the Sunday newspaper has helped pass many an afternoon, but now Michigan's largest grocer wants customers to trim their grocery bills from the comfort of their own phones.
Time-crunched shoppers can download coupons on their BlackBerries, iPhones and other mobile devices now that the Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. has unrolled a mobile coupon program at all 2,477 Kroger locations nationwide. Savings apply to dozens of national brands including Colgate Palmolive, General Mills and Kimberly-Clark.
"Retailers have a wider generation of shoppers shopping with them than they ever had before," said Kroger spokesman Dale Hollandsworth. Younger consumers have come to expect Internet and mobile-based savings, he said.
Coupon usage increases across all ages and income levels when the economy is down. Coupon redemption is up 72 percent nationwide, according to an August consumer poll by Massachusetts-based marketing consultant Prospectiv. Internet coupon usage has surged by 73 percent since 2005, according to a report by Scarborough Research.
Mobile couponing, savings that can be accessed on the go, represents the next frontier. However, no other major supermarket chain has debuted a program of Kroger's scope, according to the Food Marketing Institute and the Michigan Grocers Association.
Twelve million people, or 5.2 percent of mobile subscribers, received at least one coupon on their mobile phones in November, according to the latest data available from market research firm comScore Inc. That's a 66 percent increase over the year before.
Coupons link to an account Kroger partnered with San Jose, Calif. digital company Cellfire to create the program and tested it last summer at 20 Kroger stores in Metro Atlanta. More than half of consumers in the pilot program redeemed more than one coupon, according to Hollandsworth.
Customers can register for a coupon savings account at www.cellfire.com from their mobile phone or computer. Entering their mobile phone number and Kroger Savings Plus card number links the coupons to the account. Shoppers can then browse coupons from their phones or computers and click on desired deals, which are then loaded onto the grocery card and redeemed at checkout.
Used or expired coupons are removed from the Cellfire account. New grocery offers appear every two weeks.
The service is free of charge but standard mobile usage charges may apply, depending on the carrier or data plan, according to Cellfire.
Convenience of Web coupons
Web coupons represent just 0.4 percent of the multi-billion dollar coupon industry, but are expected to grow.
Sunday newspaper inserts account for more than 88 percent of total coupons, according to the Promotion Marketing Association. Magazines. Direct mail and in-store handouts account for the rest.
Sunday newspaper inserts are "still predominant, but there is a tilt towards tech-based coupon delivery systems," said Jeffrey Stoltman, Wayne State University marketing professor.
Web coupons are often more convenient for consumers, who can search for deals quickly and don't need to remember to bring their clippings to the store.
"Clipping is laborious," Stoltman said, "but a couple of clicks on a keyboard and you're there."
Mobile couponing has great potential "given the number of cell phones out there," according to Charles Brown, co-chair of the Promotion Marketing Association Coupon Council.
Paperless coupon systems can also save money for retailers who spend "tens of millions of dollars in processing costs collectively," said Dan Kihanya, vice president of consumer marketing for Cellfire.
However, mobile couponing is a new behavior and retailers could lose customers who don't have cell phones or don't feel comfortable with technology, WSU's Stoltman warned.
Savings can be substantial
Kroger shopper Nancy McKinley of Grosse Pointe said she was not aware of Kroger's mobile couponing program but would welcome a more convenient alternative to newspaper clipping.
McKinley, who saves between $5 and $15 with coupons at Kroger each week, said she generally sets aside newspaper coupon inserts and goes through them every couple of months.
"A lot of times they've expired before I get to them," she said. "You've got to save money."
You can reach Jaclyn Trop at (313) 222-2300 or jtrop@detnews.com.