Coupons Are Hot. Clipping Is Not.

From Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2009

In the Northeast, grocers Stop & Shop and Giant Food, both units of Netherlands-based Royal Ahold NV, have begun offering shoppers at 180 stores handheld scanning devices that subtotal the bill and make a "ka-ching" noise when shoppers get offered a discount for an item similar to things they've bought in the past. For example, a customer buying tortilla chips could get an alert about a sale on salsa, or a cereal lover might receive a "buy one, get one free" discount.

The scanner, called Scan It!, clocks more than half a million shopping visits each month and will nearly double its usage at the two grocery-store chains after a 100-store expansion is completed this spring. Developed by Modiv Media Inc. of Quincy, Mass., the Scan It! records the purchasing habits -- though not the name -- of an individual customer from the past 65 weeks. More than 70 consumer-goods manufacturers have signed up to have discounts appear on the handheld device, which shortens shopping trips by 12 to 15 minutes because customers bag items as they go, the company says. Despite the faster check-out time, customers spend 10% more, the company says.

Full Report: Wall Street Journal