Coupon-clipping grocery shoppers at Kroger can put their scissors back in the drawer—the national grocer has begun offering coupons via mobile phones.
Kroger has signed on with the mobile coupon service of Cellfire Inc. To receive coupons, consumers visit Cellfire’s web site and activate their free account, select their telecommunications provider (consumers must have wireless data service to receive coupons), mobile phone manufacturer and mobile phone model, and then enter their phone number. Cellfire then sends users a text message with a link to download the company’s coupon application onto their mobile phone. For some phone models, a consumer accesses Cellfire’s mobile web site instead of downloading the application.
Once the account is activated, consumers can browse through the application or mobile web site to view coupons from numerous businesses, including Kroger. A one-time set up allows the user to link a Cellfire account with a Kroger Plus Card account. Kroger Plus is the supermarket’s loyalty program. Coupons selected from within the Cellfire application are downloaded into the Kroger Plus account and automatically redeemed at checkout. Once a coupon is used or expires, it automatically is deleted from the consumer’s Cellfire and Kroger Plus accounts.
“We’re constantly seeking new innovations to provide our customers with more ways to save,” a Kroger spokeswoman says. “The ability to access grocery coupons using their cell phone helps our customers save both time and money, resulting in a satisfying shopping experience.”
Kroger is rolling out mobile coupons to grocery shoppers in Georgia, South Carolina, Eastern Tennessee and Alabama. Consumer brand manufacturers offering coupons through Kroger include Clorox, ConAgra, Del Monte, General Mills, Kimberly-Clark and Unilever.
“Cell phones are always with the consumer and association with the grocer savings card makes it simple and convenient,” says Karl Schmidt, director of promotional marketing at General Mills. “Plus, mobile extends our reach and influence to a younger generation of shoppers who are less inclined to clip coupons from newspapers, circulars or direct mail.”
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