A single re-run of TLC’s Extreme Couponing will make you realize that couponing and saving money at the grocery store is a full-time job for some. The 76,50,000 results on Google when you look up ‘couponing’ is indicative of how widespread the passion is. According to a Coupon Intelligence Report by Valassis, 90% of consumers use coupons in some form during the purchase process.

The popularity of coupons doubled with how they quickly improve customer retention and customer loyalty is primarily why grocery stores still print coupons.

But, there are just two significant problems.

In the age of personalization, how do you ensure that the right customer receives the right coupon? And, how can grocery stores eliminate the need for dozens of paper coupons that hold up the checkout lines?

The answer is fairly simple – Direct mailers with QR Code Coupons.  

Grocery store marketing: Direct mailers and coupons

Grocery stores are no stranger to direct mail marketing. Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the US, leveraged purchase history to send targeted offers to customers in their direct mail. And, given how 98% of Americans check their mailboxes every day, using this strategy is a no-brainer.

Kroger mailed the store’s best customers a direct mailer with appealing food images and coupons and recipes inside.

Just how effective is this practice? According to a case study by mspark, 71% of frequent grocery shoppers take action when they see a coupon in their mailbox. Inkit’s direct mail automation makes it easy to replicate Kroger’s success.

However, to make it easier for the average consumer to receive and use coupons, grocery stores are starting to make the move to digital coupons which makes sense when you realize that there are 1.05 billion digital coupon users in 2019.

But, instead of sending these digital coupons via email that usually land up in the Spam folder, QR Codes can be leveraged to act as a conduit between the usual paper coupon and the digital coupon.

A QR Code can be customized to contain a coupon code or lead to a landing page which contains all the coupon codes. Grocery stores can even leverage the same QR Code to display different discounts based on the time, location or day of the week. This is made possible with a dynamic QR Code. Dynamic QR Codes can be edited even after they have been printed.

All a shopper has to do is scan the QR Code to reveal the discount code or take a picture of the QR Code which can be redeemed later at the store saving precious time at the checkout lines.

The QR Code Coupons can also contain links to the website of the grocery store with the code pre-applied at checkout combining the convenience and great discounts that is the USP of online grocery stores like Amazon Fresh and Fresh Direct.  

It is interesting to note that 84% of US adults reportedly never order groceries online (Supermarket News). Only 11% of consumers order groceries online twice a month or less and only 4% do so every week.

Amazon has also discontinued its Fresh services in some cities because of these low adoption rates. So, it is fair to conclude that grocery stores can grow their ROI exponentially if they address customer’s pain points when it comes to coupons.

How to create a QR Code Coupon

Generating a QR Code is extremely simple with Beaconstac’s QR Code Generator. You can create 3 different types of QR Code Coupons:

1. Text QR Code

This merely contains the coupon code which can be redeemed at the store. To create a Text QR Code, enter the code and click on ‘Generate QR Code’ and your QR Code will be ready for you to download.

2. Website QR Code

Use this option to give shoppers more information on the coupon or be able to redeem it from the online store. Creating this QR Code requires a URL. Paste your campaign’s URL to generate a QR Code.

3. Customized, dynamic QR Code

Your QR Code does not have to be black and white. You can create beautiful QR Codes with a logo and colors that align with your branding. You can even add a background image to the QR Code. This dynamic QR code is perfect when there are a ton of different offers or the same QR Code needs to be reused. These premium features are available in Beaconstac’s QR Code Solution.

QR Code coupons elevate direct mail marketing for grocery stores

QR Code coupons help grocery stores create a seamless customer experience but it doesn’t end there. Grocery stores can measure the efficacy of direct mail marketing using a QR Code and fine-tune campaigns attached to the QR Code in real time.

Here are 4 ways QR Code coupons aid direct mail marketing:

1. Collect analytics

Direct mail marketing open rates do not have to be a wild guess with QR Codes. Given how popular coupons are, customers are more likely to scan the QR Code. Once a QR code is scanned, information about the user – location, device and country can be acquired. It also helps to measure the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

2. Fine-tune campaigns

Say, the open rates are high but the conversion is extremely poor, grocery store marketers can fine-tune the campaigns associated with the QR Code in real time and conduct split A/B testing as well.

3. Retargeting online on Google and Facebook

A retargeted ad has 10 times the CTR of a normal display ad. Once consumers scan the QR Code, they can be retargeted online on Google and Facebook with a simple integration.

4. Dynamic nature

Dynamic QR Codes can be edited even after they have been printed. This means there is no need to reprint the coupon saving money, time and effort. It also makes it that much easier for consumers to avail of discounts. They can hold on to the same QR Code to see what their favourite grocery store has to offer.

To start targeting and retargeting your grocery store’s best customers, use a robust combination of Inkit’s direct mail automation and Beaconstac’s QR Code Solution to leverage the power of QR code coupons in direct mail.