Going old school could really hurt you when shopping for groceries.
Key points
- Many consumers are used to clipping physical coupons.
- If your supermarket offers digital coupons, it pays to keep tabs on them and load them to your account.
The world is going increasingly digital, but some people aren’t quite ready to embrace that change. While it’s easy enough these days to deposit a check into your bank account using an app, some people would much prefer to walk into a physical bank and hand that check over to a teller. And while the IRS makes it easy to file a tax return electronically, there are still people who prefer to fill out a paper return and put it in the mail — even if that means having to wait longer to receive a tax refund.
Another thing that’s gotten increasingly digital is couponing. While many stores still have the practice of sending out physical coupons, some largely put their coupons online because it’s easier and less cumbersome.
One of the places where coupons might come in the most handy is your local supermarket. And you can generally find coupons in the weekly circular that shows up in your mailbox.
But a lot of grocery store chains have, in recent years, increased their digital coupon offerings. And if you don’t take advantage of that, you could miss out on a lot of savings.
Don’t pay more at the supermarket
If you have a shopper’s card for your local supermarket, you may be privy to lower prices than those who don’t. But those savings aren’t always automatic.
A lot of supermarkets will post digital coupons to their websites on a regular basis. But if you don’t log into your account and specifically load those coupons onto your store card, you won’t be able to benefit from them.
It’s a practice that’s really a mixed bag. For tech-savvy people, digital couponing eliminates the hassle of having to clip physical coupons and remember to take them along. But those who aren’t the most tech-savvy and are used to physical coupons might miss out on a world of savings due to this practice. And that’s not a good thing.
In fact, a group of consumer advocacy groups recently sent a letter to a number of large supermarket chains blasting them for limiting certain deals to digital coupon-holders only. The letter criticized this practice, stating it unfairly impacts the elderly and those with limited income who may not have the tech resources to take advantage of digital deals.
The reality, though, is that there could come a point in time when digital coupons will replace physical coupons fully. And so it pays to get on board with the idea — even if you’d rather take a more old school approach to grocery shopping.
Don’t miss out
The cost of groceries is soaring these days due to inflation. It worth it to load up on digital coupons every week before you do your shopping. And if you have a person in your life who isn’t the most tech-savvy, offer to help them set up an account and walk them through the process so they can take advantage of digital coupons going forward.
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