Coupons may have come a long way since they were first dreamt up in 1888 – when Asa Candler, a partner in Coca-Cola, handed out pieces of paper for free glasses of Coke – but the rise of new technology is opening up a major opportunity for all brands to embrace.
While paper couponing is still ubiquitous, 21st century know-how is enabling firms to distribute coupons 24/7 and to a wider audience via Internet and mobile communications.
Mobile couponing has been around for a few years now – from the likes of i-Movo and Eagle Eye – enabling brands to send a unique code coupon to a mobile. There is no risk of multiple use as the coupon code is checked against a central database before being validated.
The drawback with the current technology is that it tends to be available only for smaller scale campaigns through a limited range of stores – such as those on the PayPoint network. It’s not really possible to run an open mobile coupon redeemable at all major supermarkets.
However, things could be set to change, thanks to the penetration of smartphones coupled with near field communications (NFC) technology, which allows data to be stored within a special chip on the phone itself.
This enables consumers to hold their phone near the reader at the till. Any coupons in the phone matching items in the basket would be activated, redeemed and then switched off in the blink of an eye.
The technology is compelling and, moreover, already ‘market tested’. The payment card companies, Visa and Mastercard, are driving uptake of NFC readers with stores using it for smaller payments.
When you consider how the UK’s major multiples continue to be avid coupon issuers, mainly via direct mail and at till – and how important their loyalty schemes have become – then NFC enablement of mass-market couponing looks a good bet.
An NFC chip could replace the supermarket loyalty card, holding all the points plus any coupons from that supermarket or from brands. I imagine the supermarket retailers will be investigating and trialling NFC to see how it can be used for their loyalty schemes. It offers the prospect of ever closer ties with individual consumers; for example targeting offers directly to shoppers’ handsets while they are in-store or in the proximity.
Currently, at Sainsbury’s, shoppers are handed coupons that are printed at the till, mainly special offers for bonus Nectar points and money-off products. The system creates coupons and offers that are relevant to you. Taking this to the next level, shoppers need no longer be handed paper coupons – the offers could automatically be transferred onto the phone’s NFC chip, ready for the next trip to the supermarket.
With smartphones developing rapidly it won’t be too long before handsets contain multiple retailer loyalty accounts. They will collect and store loyalty points or redeem them if told to do so.
Consumers will have the ability to download and scan offers from web pages, printed media and more onto the handset. Then when they are shopping, the handset will know which retailer they’re at, remind them which coupons they have available and apply the relevant offers at the till. And which brand wouldn’t want a slice of that?
Matt Butcher is sales director at PIMS-SCA
