Digital deals biased, grocers told
Online coupons leave out low-tech shoppers, group says
A coalition of consumer groups is asking grocery chains to rethink digital coupons, saying the deals discriminate against shoppers who don’t have smartphones or reliable internet access.
The coupons — advertised online or on store shelves — can offer significant savings but generally require customers to electronically clip a coupon in a grocer’s app or on its website.
For example, a Kroger in Cincinnati is advertising frozen turkey for 60 cents per pound this week; with a digital coupon, the price drops to 49 cents per pound. And a Stop & Shop in Somerville, Mass., is offering a half pork loin for $2.99 per pound; with a digital coupon, that drops to $1.79 per pound.
“There’s nothing wrong with digital coupons as long as they’re equitable and everyone can take advantage of the advertised price in one way or another,” said Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts who runs the website Consumer World.
Dworsky and others — including Consumer Reports, Consumer Action, the Public Interest Research Group and the National Consumers League — sent letters this week to Kroger, Albertsons, Stop & Shop and Smart & Final urging the companies to
ensure deals are available in digital and nondigital formats.
Kroger and Smart & Final didn’t respond to requests for comment. A Stop & Shop spokesperson said the grocer will review the letter.
Albertsons said it offers digital deals as a way to reward customers in its loyalty program who can download deals into their apps. But the company said many of its stores also let customers present weekly circulars to cashiers so discounts can be applied.
Dworsky said that can be problematic, since customers and cashiers don’t always know presenting circulars is an option.
Albertsons also pointed out that it owns Vons, a Californiabased chain that Dworsky has praised for offering “clip or click” coupons in its circulars, which allow customers to cut out coupons or download them.
Pennsylvania-based Giant Co. also offers “clip or click” coupons, Dworsky said.
“We will continue to provide assistance to users of the rewards program in the store to help them ensure they get the best possible experience and prices,” Albertsons said in a statement.
Dworsky said some stores offer refunds to customers who ask for the digital price, but that requires the customer to make an extra effort. He wants stores to ensure cashiers honor digital deals upon request, or even go to the lengths of Texas-based H-E-B Grocery Co., which puts physical coupons in its stores next to advertised deals.
Dworsky said seniors likely lack smartphone or internet access, or the technical savvy to figure out how digital coupons work.
Smartphone access varies widely by age group in the United States, according to a 2021 study by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. The study found that 96% of people ages 18 to 29 own a smartphone compared with 61% of those 65 and older.
The same study found that 25% of people 65 or older don’t use the internet.