One would think that in these uncertain economic times, more of us would be clipping coupons for use at the grocery store.
But, believe it or not, we aren’t.
According to marketing analysts, the number of coupons used by consumers dropped 17 percent last year from the year before.
It’s not that the American consumer has suddenly gotten richer or less frugal. What’s more at play, say analysts, is that we’ve grown tired of the hassle of the coupon-clipping process: the physical act of sifting through pages of advertisements, looking for a coupon that matters to you. Getting coupons in the mail for products you don’t want. Storing coupons in a drawer or your wallet, for your next grocery store visit. Expiration dates. Store clerks who don’t understand how to process coupons. And the list goes on.
But what if there was a better way? What if there were a way to link our natural inclination to be cost conscious to a hassle-free form of couponing?
Enter St. Louis entrepreneur Rob Rose, and his startup, DealieDo, who was featured on St. Louis radio station KMOX’s Innovation Tuesday segment July 9.
Rose’s “better way” has, as its key, software that is integrated directly into the electronic inventory management system and electronic cash register software used at most grocery stores throughout North America. The software reads receipts from your past purchases, thus knowing the type of products you typically buy. When you download the DealieDo app, e-coupons that are customized for you are sent directly to your smart phone. When you reach the checkout lane, you simply scan a personalized code, your coupons are matched to your receipt, and your coupon savings are applied to your bill.
Easy.
There’s another attractive component of the DealieDo system: it has the potential to put a serious dent in the age-old “fake ID” problem. The app includes an age verification system that grocers can use at checkout by scanning the barcode found on the back of state-issued identification cards.
To more quickly get DealieDo out to the masses, Rose has formed an exclusive relationship with Omaha-based Retail Data Systems to sell DealieDo into their existing customers.
Before founding DealieDo, CEO Rose was director of public relations and government affairs at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. He also has served as a vice president at public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard.
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