Kroger makes it easier for tech-challenged shoppers

Phone apps are not for everyone, and ever since the grocery industry took the technology leap shoppers have been left frustrated.

Last summer, a study by media outlet ConsumerWorld.org showed many of the biggest sales are now digital-only, and consumers now must use digital-only coupons to take advantage. Not long after the study a number of groups including Consumer Action, Consumer Reports, the National Consumers League, and US PIRG wanted stores to stop with the digital incentives.

The movement has not gained much traction, but Kroger is now allowing shoppers to get the deals without using a smartphone, according to the Dayton Daily News:

“We understand that not all customers choose to engage digitally when shopping with retailers. Customers who would like to take advantage of digital coupons can receive the discounted pricing at any customer service desk,” the grocer said in a statement.

Shoppers also can access coupons on the Kroger website after entering their Kroger Plus card number. “Clipping” online will apply the discounts to their loyalty card.

Kroger also announced this week that it is expanding its retail media strategy with the addition of digital screens that facilitate video advertising across 500 of its stores. Kroger will partner with  Cooler Screens, the maker of the screen tech. The two had been running a pilot program for the past three years. Kroger has not yet announced how it will use the screens, but the tech has flexibility and can be used on cooler doors, walls, end caps, windows, checkout lanes, and in banner aisles.

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Cara Pratt, senior vice president at Kroger Precision Marketing, said the screens will be integrated with the retailer’s 84.51 degrees data science platform “to create an engaging and valuable experience for our customers, associates, and brands.”

Earlier in the year, Cooler Screens conducted a survey that involved 3,750 brick-and-mortar shoppers on the effectiveness of in-store media and digital ads and found:

In-store retail media has been shown to be an effective strategy, according to recent reports. A recent study from digital analytics company Placer.ai and audience behavior software company Comscore Media Metrix Multi-Platform indicated that in-store retail media captures audiences that are on average 70% larger than digital audiences for brick-and-mortars like Walmart (over 212 million unique visitors vs. 140 million), Target (119 million vs. over 78 million), Walgreens (over 73 million vs. over 35 million), Costco (66 million vs. over 22 million), CVS (almost 63 million vs. 41 million), and Kroger (over 41 million vs. almost 15 million).

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