July 25, 2022
Many grocery stores see many benefits in highlighting digital coupons. However, the digital shift may limit access to coupons to seniors and low-income Americans with technical challenges.
Edgar Dworsky, consumer advocate and founder of Consumer World said: With over 50 supermarkets, we found that about two-thirds of them offer weekly digital exclusive deals. Ten chains doubled or tripled the number of digital-only transactions offered in June 2022 compared to the same week the previous year.
“Digital discounts are not a problem for many seniors. We will understand and put it in the store, ”Dwolski commented. report“A significant number of shoppers do not have online access, do not understand how to redeem digital offers, or are unable to follow cumbersome online procedures regardless of age.”

As reported by CNN, Pew Research Center research Starting in 2021, 39% of Americans age 65 and older will not own a smartphone and 25% will not use the internet.In the same year, Pugh found 24% of adults with an annual household income of less than $30,000 do not own a smartphone and 41% do not own a computer.
Grocers are encouraged to encourage shoppers to use digital coupons to reduce costs, see promotion response rates, track purchases, and personalize offers.
Coupon distribution has been declining year by year, partly because newspaper circulation has declined, but redemption rates have also declined. 2019 study Researchers from Harvard University, Georgetown University, and the Heinrich Heine University of Düsseldorf attributed the drop in reimbursement rates primarily to busy two-worker households who refrain from coupon hunting for small savings. thinking about.
When I talk to you recently new york timesSanjay Dahl, a professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Management, said part of the decline in redemption rates is because older coupon-seeking bond shoppers are having trouble finding coupons online. I’m thinking. It’s because the coupon doesn’t reach the right people. ”
Discussion Question: Do you agree that digital-exclusive coupons discriminate against seniors and low-income households? Is there a way to encourage digital connectivity among most shoppers without abusing the tech-shy? mosquito?
“The simple fact of the matter is that there are many ways to promote a product using multiple levels of technology.”