SmartSource Pulls the Plug on Printable Coupons

Good. Paper coupons are dumb.

Trees everywhere say thanks

The question is what are stores going to do? The point of a printed coupon is for reimbursement, without the paper trail its going to be interesting...

So they are looking for some data mining operation with no mention of how retailers will accept the new coupons.
I have enough problems with side eye on printed coupons, who knows how this will work.

Perhaps they will do it in reverse, you buy the item, send them the receipt (by photo) then get "credits".

I suspect this will work the same way Save-On currently has their "Sponsored Offers" in their app or how Loblaw lets you load offers into your PC Optimum account through third-party websites.

Also side note here...someone came into our store a couple days ago and "installed" one of those SmartSource coupon displays (with tearpads on both sides) in a spot where we also keep produce that gets misted...it took about 3 cycles to completely soak both tearpads all the way through. What an incredible waste.

"Only in the app" is the future. "Save trees" is greenwashing, since that's not why paper coupons are being discontinued. Paper coupons don't track your every move and data-mine you the way apps do.

Kiraly wrote: ↑ "Only in the app" is the future. "Save trees" is greenwashing, since that's not why paper coupons are being discontinued. Paper coupons don't track your every move and data-mine you the way apps do.

What about Apples new 'Dont Track Me' option for installed apps?

Kiraly wrote: ↑"Only in the app" is the future. "Save trees" is greenwashing, since that's not why paper coupons are being discontinued. Paper coupons don't track your every move and data-mine you the way apps do.

I'm shocked this is how far down this response was.
This has nothing to do with saving trees, but all about getting you to use their apps.
There's a minor cost savings involved in not printing paper coupons (ie in store) but it's all about the data mining.

kr0zet wrote: ↑ What about Apples new 'Dont Track Me' option for installed apps?

From what I remember about the don't track me, it's just an advertising identifier kind of like what a cookie is on a computer.
An installed app still has access to a whole host of other things (assuming you give it permission) like GPS, camera, microphones, storage, etc. which is far more useful.

Even in an ideal world where the app receives no other useful information other than what's happening on the app itself (ie what coupons you use, what coupons you look at, how long you spend on the app, etc) that's still more than they're getting via paper coupons.
This info is more valuable than any sort of identifier.

They own Checkout51 as well, so not surprised. They get to save the $0.10 or so they have to pay retailers for handling fee, along with all the data mining from the receipts. And it takes a while to get $20 on C51 so I assume they save a lot of money not having to pay out people who give up.

helloworld111 wrote: ↑ They own Checkout51 as well, so not surprised. They get to save the $0.10 or so they have to pay retailers for handling fee, along with all the data mining from the receipts. And it takes a while to get $20 on C51 so I assume they save a lot of money not having to pay out people who give up.

Hmm, that might be me! Joined a couple months ago, only have $2.11 and not sure if C051 is worth it ... and argh, $20 cashout?!

We prefer Ampli for CB. Higher $$ value and not too long to cash out, after using a few offers.

As someone who doesn't own a printer, and can only secretly print at work, I rather the app. If I ever change jobs and I don't have a printer, goodbye coupons.

I'm not that sad to see them go. They almost always weren't a good deal and were rarely ever for items I actually wanted.