New kiosk technology developed by a division of Montreal-based GTC Transcontinental Group has the potential to transform the traditionally low-tech couponing industry, providing retailers with a powerful new weapon in their battle to win the hearts and dollars of consumers.
Transcontinental e.media has created an in-store, interactive kiosk that, for starters, dispenses coupons electronically onto a customer smart card that comes equipped with a memory chip.
If convenience was all the system offered, that might, in itself, be enough to capture retailers’ interest. But the kiosk also features database technology that can facilitate the creation of targeted advertising and repeat-customer loyalty programs.
Mario Mrvica, director of marketing and development for Transcontinental e.media, says the applications the company is building mean loyalty, coupon and gift-certificate programs can all be managed on one card.
The kiosk, which is similar in appearance to an atm, gets its first installation later this year in 50 stores belonging to an as-yet-undisclosed grocery chain in Western Canada.
While most kiosks currently in the market are strictly informational in nature, says Mrvica, the interactivity of the e.media kiosk allows retailers to build one-to-one relationships with their customers.
Customers who insert their cards in the kiosks are greeted by name and offered the option of downloading savings coupons that will automatically be debited from their bill at check out.
Because the card carries purchase information about the customer, the selection of coupons offered is personalized to include products they are most likely to buy.
In addition, the kiosk has printout capability and a second screen that displays advertising such as the digitized version of the store’s flyer.
Mrvica says the applications for the kiosk are limited only by the retailer’s imagination. The kiosk could be programmed with a recipe, for example, that specifies in which aisles the ingredients could be found.
Transcontinental e.media says it will tailor the kiosks to the needs of each retailer and is currently assessing various models.
One model has Transcontinental installing the network of kiosks, the smart-card reader, the applications and the cards themselves in return for a fee per customer transaction.
Mrvica says he believes the kiosk will be well received because of Canadian consumers’ ready acceptance of new technologies such as debit cards and electronic banking, as well as their proclivity to use coupons and to take part in loyalty programs.
Transcontinental, which holds 55% of the flyer printing and distribution business in Canada, has been involved in electronic publishing since 1991, when it began offering customers the option to print to cd-rom.
Sidebar: Coupon use down marginally
According to Pam Royl, director of strategic planning and research at Palmer Jarvis DDB, the agency’s 1997 Lifestyle Study pegged usage of grocery coupons at 85% of English Canadian males and 92% of females, compared to 90% of French Canadian males and 93% of females. She also says Canadian grocery shoppers have a high incidence of price checking, adding a surprisingly high percentage of males always check and compare prices.
‘Overall use of coupons trended over 11 years shows usage has gone down marginally. Trending information in the u.s. over the past 22 years indicates the use of price-off coupons at a grocery store is flat for females, while there has been increase for males.
Weekly use of coupons peaked in 1981 and 1993, but usage frequency has been declining in the u.s., she says. PS
