If you are anything like me, you look through coupons regularly. There are lots of ways they get distributed and it's a full time job trying to actively use them. When you think about the myriad of offers, the variety of mediums, and the vast number of retailers or products trying to get your attention, its not surprising that the majority of these get missed. This is particularly true if you are like me and end up grabbing one or two coupons you just happen to see. The fact is that, for most of us, 99% of coupons are useless.
Coupon distribution is changing
The way companies are sending out coupons has changed dramatically over the last few years. Gone are the days of the classic print inserts you used to make your Christmas list as a kid. I spent a few years working for a major retailer and I've seen the dramatic impact of how quickly these are becoming obsolete. While right now only 10% of coupons are digital, the use of online and mobile coupons is growing faster than any other segment.
Digital creates new challenges
The exciting thing about the transition of coupons from print to digital is the new found ease of access than many customers are experiencing. Its easier than ever to search for coupons you want and use them on your phone. In fact, there are many sites and apps that are aggregating digital versions of all the coupons that used to be (or still are) in print. Google "Best Buy Coupon" and dozens of codes and coupons are bound to show up. This does, however, create a new problem.
With the old print news papers, the only way to have an old coupon was to have an old newspaper. This make it much less likely to have an expired coupon as most papers are disposed of within a week of being received. However, in the case of digital coupons the lifecycles longer without the natural purging that came with print. Once a coupon is out there, it is much more likely to stay posted and in circulation long after it has passed expiration. This means customers have to put in the effort to make sure the offers they are collecting are valid. Believe me, it's a ton of work.
Digital coupons are still not easy to use
While there are many benefits that have come with the advent of digital, there are still challenges. It is still a ton of work to search for and collect coupons from a vast number of sites and apps. It is still a toss up whether the coupons you got are going to be valid. It is still a matter of taking lots of time and coordinating tons of moving pieces for an often immaterial payout. There has to be a better way.
With all that in mind, I put a question to you: would you use more coupons if they were automatically generated all in one place, specifically for you, right on your phone? This means you would never have to cut, search, clip, or collect coupons every again. Personally, I need a way to take advantage of all the benefits and savings that coupons offer without all the effort. In that respect, I'm lazy. I want to sit back and let my coupons come to me. I want them to be valuable, I want them to be easy to use, and I want them to be relevant.
There is a better way
We are trying to build a way for you to anonymously use your spending history to create you own coupons in one single app. As you shop, you will earn coupons to the competitors of all the places you shop. For example, say you spend $100 at Wal-Mart. Scannibal would let you earn a percentage of that $100 back to other grocery stores in your area. What if you could spend $100 and earn back a full $100 in discounts and now have valuable coupons to every other grocery store within 10 miles? We think that would be pretty cool.
We want to hear what you think!
If you are someone who uses coupons of any sort, we would love to hear the good and bad parts of your coupon experiences. If you are someone who doesn't use coupons, we would definitely love to hear why you don't. If you are someone who is just a coupon and clearance shopping nerd like me, drop a line and lets talk savings!
Thanks for reading!
Chris
chris@Scannibal.com
http://scannibal.com
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