Kroger-owned stores have coupons for digital-only deals that you can scan off a piece of paper. Albertsons-owned stores have “clip or click” coupons you can cut out of the weekly circular.
As digital coupons are increasingly going retro and being offered in paper form, another major grocery chain is going back to the future with new investments in paper coupons.
And it’s not even in this country, showing that the ability to access digital coupons and the desire for alternative formats is an international concern.
It’s happening in the UK, where Morrisons is one of the major grocery chains, albeit one with a reputation for appealing to an older customer base.
The retailer has announced a new partnership with the retail technology company Ecrebo, in what the British industry site The Grocer calls “a major expansion of its use of physical coupons in a bid to get shoppers spending more in its stores.”
Ecrebo provides Catalina-like coupons at the checkout, in both digital and paper form. Digitally-savvy shoppers can get personalized coupons attached to digital receipts. Those who prefer printed receipts and coupons can get personalized offers printed at the checkout. Ecrebo’s platform promises to instantly analyze a shopper’s profile, purchase history, and the items they’re currently buying, to present relevant offers in whichever form a shopper prefers.
As a grocery chain that “over-indexes in elderly shoppers,” The Grocer notes, the new offerings represent a way for Morrisons to offer “more physical ways of rewarding customers who don’t want to use its More Card loyalty app or online shopping.”
Morrisons had also resumed delivering paper store coupons to some households over the holidays, and is believed to be considering doing that more often.
The “digital to physical” approach comes six months after a survey by Ecrebo competitor Catalina found that British shoppers increasingly preferred printed coupons to digital offers. A third of all shoppers said paper coupons were their preferred method of receiving offers, compared to a quarter preferring digital. 65% of those who prefer paper coupons said they actively look forward to receiving them – rising to 73% among Morrisons’ older clientele.
But it’s not just older shoppers who are gravitating to paper coupons. “Gen Z is the group most likely to feel overwhelmed by digital and least likely to want more of it,” Catalina found.
So Morrisons’ back-to-the-future approach may be coming at just the right time. The retailer, which has found itself slipping behind both its traditional grocery rivals as well as fast-growing discounters ALDI and Lidl in popularity, recently launched a new strategy it calls the “value triangle” – focusing on lowering prices, enhancing loyalty rewards, and offering more relevant and targeted promotions.
And if those low prices, rewards and promotions come in the form of printed coupons, it’s all part of the plan. We may be headed toward a paperless future, but as many shoppers might be inclined to remind their favorite grocery store – it’s not the future just yet.
Image source: Morrisons
