Electronic Coupons Doing Well At Big Y

CAROL ANGRISANI

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Big Y is seeing positive results from new paperless coupons that are available exclusively in its stores.

“Overall movement on [participating] items has shown nice bumps,” John Schnepp, Big Y's advertising director, told SN.

Big Y's EZ-PIC (paperless instant coupon) program is facilitated by a new technology from Chicago-based Unicous Marketing that provides electronic savings at the checkout. The program doesn't require a loyalty card or any sort of preregistration.

Consumers are alerted to participating items via four-color, 4- by 5-inch shelf signs and through other promotional materials. Savings are applied instantly as the product is scanned.

“Coupons are automatically given at the point of sale,” Schnepp said. “There's nothing to clip.”

Unicous collects the coupon value from manufacturers and repays it to the retailer. There is no cost to Big Y, according to Unicous.

Rain checks are not offered, and EZ-PIC offers cannot be doubled. But discounts are given on top of in-store specials and paper-coupon savings.

“One of the beauties of the paperless system is that discounts are incremental to any other in-store savings opportunity,” said Jay Kemper, Unicous' chief executive officer.

About five to 10 manufacturers — accounting for a total of 50 to 100 products — are featured in EZ-PIC at Big Y every four to six weeks, after which a new product cycle begins. Participating manufacturers include Chicken of the Sea, Ocean Spray, Borden, Langer, Nissin Foods and ConAgra.

Center Store accounts for the majority of products, although dairy, frozen and produce are included on occasion. Current offers range from 50 cents to 75 cents off one purchase; to $1 off two; to buy one, get one free.

Big Y initiated a soft launch in November, followed by a major promotion and advertising campaign last month. In-store promotional materials include register signs, bag stuffers, buttons and window signs.

The greatest advantage of EZ-PIC is that it makes it easier for Big Y shoppers to save, said Schnepp.

“All the customer has to do is purchase the item(s) and the savings comes off at the register,” he said.

While Big Y is currently the exclusive EZ-PIC retailer, Unicous has already received formal commitments from another eight to 10 chains, representing about 1,300 stores, according to Kemper. The EZ-PIC technology could go live in some of those chains as early as April. Unicous is also in advanced discussions with another six chains, representing about 1,000 more stores, Kemper said.

The company is currently targeting traditional supermarkets, with plans to branch out to drug, club and mass channels.

Although EZ-PIC is free to retailers, it requires modifications to point-of-sale systems so that they can recognize eligible products. Unicous implements these updates on behalf of retailers, Kemper said.

The participating manufacturers are in complete control of the offers, which are funded via national-brand ad funds rather than the trade funds that support loyalty offers, Kemper told SN in November.

Big Y is promoting EZ-PIC on its website, www.bigy.com.

“New. Only at Big Y,” the retailer's home page reads. “Easy Shopping. Easy Saving. EZ-PIC.”

The site also features a link to the Unicous website, www.paperlesscoupon.com.