Following my criticism of m-commerce, I thought I'd talk about a more promising use of mobile phones for retail. If you're like me, you loath to cut coupons, but they are a great way to save money. They're also an excellent way for manufacturers and retailers to entice new consumers, so its a win-win. Just as some airlines now allow boarding passes to be downloaded to phones and scanned at the gate, grocers like Kroger, Randalls, and ShopRite are using mobile phones as coupons.
Companies like Samplesaint and Cellfire let consumers select the coupons that interest them, then download them to their mobile phone, usually via an application or or a text message that links back to the website. Then at checkout the consumer hands the phone to the cashier and the coupons are scanned.
According to Jupiter Research, nearly three billion mobile coupons will be issued to mobile users and just under $7 billion discounts redeemed by 2011.
Its easier to search for coupons, no need to clip them, redemption is simple, and no paper is wasted. Sounds good, right? Well it could be better. Seems to me that handing over my phone while the cashier scans the coupons could be time consuming, especially since phones vary so much. Cashiers will need to know how to scroll down for each coupon on different types of phones.
According to the Cellfire website, there's also an option to associate the coupons with your loyalty card. Now we're talking! One swipe of my card and my coupons are redeemed, my discounts are applied, and in some cases, I get points awarded. Now that's efficient.
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Comments (5)
David,
There are some more great applications that make it even easier for you to use coupons on you iphone. No more selecting from the internet and downloading. It comes with coupons already, and you can personalize with your favorite stores or hide the stores you never want to see another offer from. Check out MobiQpons in the iTunes store
Posted by Navneet Aaron | June 4, 2009 9:42 PM
Posted on June 4, 2009 21:42
I couldn't agree more. I LOVE mobiQpons because not only does it make it easy to find and present the coupons to the cashier but it tells you what coupons/deals are available in stores in your area. Don't have to wait for coupons to come to you, go get 'em!
Posted by Alexander Pellow | June 8, 2009 12:36 PM
Posted on June 8, 2009 12:36
Hi, Nice post.I am agree with you.This is a good way to save money and cell phone.Thanks
Posted by Nokia Cellphones | August 10, 2009 11:46 AM
Posted on August 10, 2009 11:46
I have been looking into mobile coupons for my pizza restaurant and read about Subway mobile coupons. It makes sense that a consumer has the coupon with them at all times and can use it whenever they get hungry.
Posted by Gary Spencer | August 23, 2009 5:34 PM
Posted on August 23, 2009 17:34
WOW -- check out Mobilecoupons.com on your wireless device! it has a barcode that can be scanned by practically any scanner.
Posted by S Stroschen | October 28, 2009 7:45 PM
Posted on October 28, 2009 19:45