Nearly Twice as Many Americans Use Smartphone App Coupons Compared to Paper Circular Coupons

July 30, 2024           5 minute read

With food prices remaining high, many consumers are turning to their smartphones for digital coupons at local grocery stores over traditional paper circulars. According to a new survey from United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE: UNFI) (the “Company” or “UNFI”) and Swiftly, 43% of Americans use digital coupons at their local grocery store via a smartphone app versus just 23% who physically cut coupons from a paper circular. What’s more, nearly half of Americans (45%) report they rely on deals and promotions as part of their everyday grocery shopping experience, and (49%) desire more deals on things they want or already buy.

The findings point to a growing demand for retail technology solutions that connect consumers to brand offerings at the time and place when they’re ready to buy, such as the UNFI Media Network™ (UMN), powered by Swiftly. This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of UNFI from June 25-27, 2024, among 2,092 adults ages 18 and older. 

Louis Martin, UNFI’s President of Wholesale, said, “We partner with our customers every day to help them compete in today’s retail marketplace. Our retail media network accelerates our ability to help independent grocers create more value by better connecting them to their shoppers via tailored promotions and cutting-edge digital touchpoints. The results of this survey are a meaningful validation of our strategy and reaffirm the importance of our focus to help our customers leverage retail media to more impactfully reach today’s consumers.”

UNFI recently launched the first-of-its-kind retail media network for independent and regional grocery retailers across the United States. UMN combines UNFI's expansive scale and breadth of supplier offerings with Swiftly's advanced technology platform, personalization engine, closed-loop reporting, and analytics capabilities. It brings retail technology solutions to UNFI’s extensive network of more than 30,000 retail customer locations and approximately 11,000 brand partners, to help them compete in an increasingly digital-first world. The goal of UMN is to empower UNFI’s retail customers to connect more meaningfully and personally with their consumers while simultaneously providing unique opportunities for UNFI suppliers to showcase their brands and build their brand equity. 

“In partnering with UNFI, we are building one of the leading retail media networks in the U.S. that’s dedicated to ensuring the growth and success of today’s independent and regional grocer,” said Henry Kim, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Swiftly. “Our advanced platform is well regarded amongst key brands and retailers for its turnkey, industry-leading technology and proven success helping partners digitally transform their businesses. This data shows how vital that platform is becoming for grocers of all sizes to engage with consumers.” 

Additional survey findings revealed:

• Price is a sticking point for shoppers.

  Just 8% of Americans say they don’t care about finding ways to save money at their local grocery stores, and only 12% say price does not factor into purchasing decisions.

• Greater emphasis on digital

  Nine in 10 Americans (92%) know whether their local grocery store offers digital coupons and nearly a third (32%) wish their local grocery store offered more digital coupons.

To learn more about UMN, visit https://www.unfi.com/unfi-media-network.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of UNFI from June 25-27, 2024, among 2,092 adults ages 18 and older. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval.  For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/-2.5 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact cdavis@UNFI.com.