The future of savings thanks to Apple

Coupon publisher News America Marketing has expanded its mobile application to the iPhone following last year’s introduction on the iPad.

Mobile coupons still have a long way to go before unseating the conventional print circular, but innovative solutions such as the SmartSource Xpress, or SSX, are helping accelerate the pace of change by enabling brands to put coupons directly into shoppers’ hands via their mobile device.

"SmartSource Xpress for iPhone is a great shopping app for consumers on the go. You can clip, shop and save on your favorite grocery products," said Chris Mixson, president of News America Marketing. "It doesn’t get much better than coupons delivered right to the palm of your hand."

With a tap of the iPhone’s screen, savings are sent directly to consumers’ registered shopper cards and automatically redeemed at checkout using Direct2Card technology employed by the D2C retailer network comprised of more than 3,300 stores. News America said it expect the network to expand significantly to new retailers and new areas in the coming year.

The iPhone application has several new functionalities that differentiate it from the iPad version. Designed with convenience in mind, the app includes a carousel making it easier to view coupons and allows consumers to easily scan shopper cards during the registration process. Social media links also allow sharing of coupons with friends and family. Additionally, SmartSource Xpress utilizes the built in GPS coupled with an opt-in feature that reminds them of the SmartSource Xpress coupons they have on their shopper card when they get within close proximity of their selected stores. The magazine-format viewing style, digital enhancements such as promotional and instructional videos, free product samples, recipes and other content remain identical to the iPad version.

Conventional free-standing inserts remain the leading coupon distribution vehicle, representing nearly 90% of coupons distributed in 2012, according to SmartSource, digital couponing is becoming increasingly mainstream and the number of retailer storefronts accepting paperless or digital coupons is expected to grow by more than 50% this year.

"In addition to weekly newspaper savings, digital couponing provides additional savings opportunities. We expect SSX to resonate with a new demographic of shoppers, while allowing coupon veterans another way to cash in on even more savings, with the added convenience of having their coupons automatically loaded to their loyalty cards," said Mixson. "We remain committed to providing weekly coupon inserts to our loyal SmartSource shoppers, but we also want to offer a full suite of savings opportunities that includes the free standing insert shoppers know and love, in-store savings with our coupon machines, printable coupons online at our website SmartSource.com, and now Direct2Card coupons through our apps for iPad and iPhone."