Should Seniors Automatically Access Digital Coupons?

Digital-only coupons offered through grocers’ loyalty programs would be automatically applied to senior citizens’ bills across the state of New York under new legislation being proposed in the New York State Assembly.

The bill would apply to residents 65 and older.

A statement from Senator George Borrello, who introduced the legislation, cited a survey from Pew Research conducted in 2021 that showed that 39% of seniors did not own a smartphone versus 17% of those between the ages of 50 and 64. Smartphone ownership is nearly 100% for those under the age of 50.

Borrello added that most discounts are now offered through online-only ads and coupons that require a digital device to redeem. 

“Loyalty cards are increasingly being replaced with smartphone apps. For seniors who don’t use smartphones, this means they are unfairly deprived of discounts that could help ease the burden of higher grocery costs,” he said. 

The senator said the bill is partly motivated by the rising cost of food, citing a USDA Consumer Price Index report that shows a 25% price increase from 2019 to 2023. 

“Inflation is hurting the budgets of people across the spectrum, particularly those on fixed incomes,” Borrello said. “In the past, senior citizens could count on being able to reduce their grocery bills by using coupons from the newspaper or by taking advantage of weekly sales on produce, meat and dairy products. They could also obtain discounts by presenting physical loyalty or rewards program cards.”

Redemption of digital load-to-card (L2C) coupons at U.S. grocers surpassed those of paper free-standing inserts (FSIs) for the first time in 2020, exacerbated by the pandemic, according to Inmar Intelligence.

In April 2023, Kroger said it was phasing out print inserts in newspapers and weekly mailers due to costs associated with printed circulars and declining newspaper circulation. The nation’s largest grocery chain urged customers to download its app or go to kroger.com to access weekly deals. 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.

For grocers, digital coupon usage drives personalization efforts.

On Kroger’s fourth-quarter analyst call, CEO Rodney McMullen said, “By increasing customers’ digital experience, we can more effectively deploy our data sciences and our AI to serve the right offers to customers at the right time. In 2023, our customers clipped 4 billion coupons, which is 1 billion more coupons compared to 2022. We know these offers help customers stretch their budget and lead to deeper loyalty.”

Regardless, bills in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington are also pushing for either automatic discounts or at least an easy “in-store alternative” to digital coupons. Some have questioned the ease of accessing digital coupons in stores.

Steve Conway, a senator from Washington state, said earlier this year at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Labor and Commerce, “In the store that I’ve been in, I don’t see any placards or anything there at the checkstand that tells people that they can access these if you’ll just talk to us. That is not there.”