Aggressive Digital Move by ShopRite

ShopRite supermarkets launch impactful digital coupon program with deep price cuts on brands.

ShopRite stores are rapidly converting shoppers into digital coupon users with an aggressive Big Brand Bash promotion.  To save the most, the program requires clipless coupons: shoppers load these onto their Price Plus Club Cards via the ShopRite website or mobile app to add items to their shopping lists and trigger automatic discounts at checkout.

Entering its second week, the promotion offers deep price cuts such as Keebler cookies for 99 cents (vs. $1.99 on sale for non-digital purchasers, and everyday price of $2.99), Marie Callender’s Dinners for $2.24 (vs. $2.99) and Maxwell House Ground Coffee for $1.99 (vs. $2.99, and everyday price of $3.59).  Digital coupon savings of up to $100 in week one saw “millions of coupons downloaded” and delays for some customers trying to participate, according to a ShopRite note within its June 14 Long Island Newsday ad encouraging people to “please try again.”

To ease the transition for conventional shoppers, ShopRite has posted instructional videos on YouTube, and staffed tables near store entrances to sign people up and show them how to download the digital coupons.  To encourage use, price signs at the shelf reflect the deep digital savings.  To avoid clogged lines, cashiers can’t access the digital coupons at checkout – shoppers must have them pre-loaded by the time they reach checklanes.

ShopRite stores in this trading area already hold a strong price reputation vying for traffic against operators such as King Kullen, Stop & Shop, Waldbaum’s, Fairway, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market and The Fresh Market, as well as CVS, Walgreen’s, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, BJ’s and Target.  This brand-driven program is meant to excite, even with limits of one deep digital discount per item per shopper, and four purchases of any conventional sale item, per household per day.

Potential for the chain to build a digital following seems high.  Dunkin’ Donuts recently notched two digital milestones with its DD Perks Rewards loyalty program – more than 3 million members and more than 10 million downloads of its mobile app enabling mobile payments, digital reloads and gifting since its January 2014 

launch.