Big Y Launches Card-Less POS Discount Program

MICHAEL GARRY

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Big Y here earlier this month became the first U.S. retailer to launch a chainwide electronic coupon program that provides discounts on selected items automatically at the POS without scanning a loyalty card, according to Unicous, Chicago, provider of the program.

Seventeen manufacturers, each having category exclusivity, are providing discounts on 91 items in the initial one-month promotion, called EZ-PIC. Participating manufacturers include Seneca Foods, Ocean Spray, Musco Olives, Chicken of the Sea and Langer's. The program is funded entirely by manufacturers.

Unicous expects to have 1,000 stores from five to seven retailers involved in EZ-PIC by next April, said Jay Kemper, chief executive officer, Unicous, who considers the program to be the first of its kind in the U.S.

Big Y, which operates 55 stores, did not respond to requests for comment.

The discounted items are promoted in Big Y stores via four-color, 4-by-5-inch shelf signs, positioned perpendicular to the shelf, as well as signage at the POS. Fliers about the program are stuffed in grocery bags. Unicous provides all promotional material to the retailer, which places it in the stores.

Unicous worked with Big Y to configure its POS systems to electronically receive the discount information, Kemper said.

Loyalty card programs, which frequently offer electronic discounts, require shoppers to complete an application form and present a card at the POS. In contrast, EZ-PIC “requires no sign-up; you just come to the store and immediately enjoy the savings,” 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 said. Unicous arranges all of the promotions, which manufacturers use to target “brand-switchers.” They pay only on redemption of electronic offers.

Unicous receives POS results from Big Y and processes the redemptions for the manufacturers. “We function as the clearinghouse and are able to eliminate instances of misredemption and fraud,” Kemper said. Manufacturers pay Unicous, which reimburses Big Y for discounts shortly after a program ends. Kemper contrasted that with paper coupons, which require far more processing time and labor.

“This is a way for retailers to drive shoppers to the Center Store,” said Kemper.

But one observer noted that “the key will be how many retailers [Unicous] can get and how quickly.”