In some areas of the country, like West Springfield in Massachusetts, retail establishments are already sending their coupons straight to their customers’ smartphones.
Technology really updates at a rapid pace. The days when people clip coupons from Sunday newspaper inserts may be at an end soon. This is because grocery stores and other retail establishments are keeping up-to-date with the latest technology when it comes to coupon handling. These establishments now have a way of sending their coupons straight to their shoppers smartphones. Soon, paperless coupons will be the “in” thing for budget-conscious consumers.
One such store is Pride. This local chain of stores sends its consumers an email (containing coupon codes) which can be accessed through the shoppers’ smartphones and which can be scanned by the store clerk straight from the smartphones.
However, not everyone is easily warming up to this ‘high-tech’ way of shopping. A number of consumers are still worrying about the risks to their security. People are wary about using their smartphones for scanning coupon codes because personal important information might be taken that way. These consumers are worried that their whole identity might become known to anyone just by swiping their smartphones on a barcode reader. Basically, using smartphones for storing coupons still largely depends on whether the shopper trusts this kind of system or technology.
Some companies, like Sprint, actually are in favor of this kind of technology as it promotes sustainability. With coupons on smartphones, companies will not have to utilize a lot of paper for printing conventional coupons. The lesser the amount of paper produced, the lesser the number of trees cut for paper production.
There are already a few apps out there that let you use coupons on your phone. My favorite is probably the free one from Coupon Sherpa.