We were contacted by a CPG brand the other day who said ‘I don’t have the energy to deal with the nightmare that is paper coupons.‘ We could not agree more to the sentiment.
Let's just review a little. The first known paper coupon was issued in 1888 by Coca-Cola for a free glass of coke. In 2022, $176 billion worth of paper coupons were issued in the US. Approximately 0.4% of all coupons issued are redeemed. 90% of all retailers send their coupons to a clearing house physically, where humans and machines sort and scan all the coupons. The value of the coupons are calculated and invoices are sent to the manufacturers, who then pay the clearing house, who then reimburses the retailer. What a nightmare.
This entire process takes months, so you are not getting timely redemption data to allow you to make decisions on your trade promotion strategy.
So imagine you are buying your dairy free, gluten free, dolphin safe, free range, non-GMO, vegan, sustainability farmed, modern-slavery free, super duper snack at Whole Foods using a paper manufacturer's coupon. You just continued a chain of events that started with someone cutting down a tree and harvesting it for the paper to make the coupon, the trucks to distribute the newspaper or magazine that you found it in in, the trucks to carry your coupon along with millions of others to a clearing house, who possibly ships the coupons to a sub-clearing house in Mexico, where migrants working at below minimum wage sort and scan each one...
You get the picture. Sustainability is not just about what you buy, but also the entire ecosystem around how and what you purchase. Digital coupons reduce the size and environmental impact of this ecosystem.
With Groflo's digital coupons, buyers simply scan their receipt after their purchase and we reimburse them via PayPal or Venmo.
If you are not ready for the nightmare that is manufacturer's coupons, contact us and we can help.