In a recent article on WSJ.com, which you can find by clicking here, Unilever unveiled a new program to test mobile coupons for several of their products sold through grocery stores. It’s interesting that the grocery stores want to try this out given how cumbersome this will likely be for cashiers and consumers alike. Paper coupons are already a burden on grocery retailers. The benefit of them is that they are provided together in bulk to the cashier at check-out, who scans them through one after another. This takes time and eats up valuable wait-time in line for other customers. However, think of a situation where you have these coupons on your cell phone and each coupon has to be scanned by the cashier, passed back to the consumer to click through to the next coupon, and repeat the cycle. It you have more than three product coupons (which most people do), I can see a situation where the people waiting in line behind you begin to riot and cause you physical pain once you complete the purchase and make your way to your car in the parking lot… Mobile coupons are definitely the rage right now, but I think that the jury is still out on the best way to do this. Scanning mobile coupons one at a time doesn’t work. We’ll have to wait for a better way…
