The Scoop On Coupons

My mom raised a coupon shopper. Back in the day, I could orchestrate an evening of visits to three grocery stores within a mile of my home, coupons sorted by store and by aisle, and save 50 to 80 percent. Being poor makes you crafty.

Now that I can afford more produce and whole foods, I’m less diligent about clipping. But when I saw that Unilever is going to test mobile coupons, well, I got a little 50-cents-off thrill.

The idea is simple. Visit Samplesaint.com and download offers to your phone. When you get to the store, the cashier scans your phone and reads your discounts, which are applied to your bill. It’s much like using a key fob at the grocery for savings at checkout, but without the store-loyalty part.

So can I please get all kinds of discounts this way? Big Brother already knows what I buy. Just make it cheap and easy. Don’t make me track down the scissors and carry around a little stack of papers or download coupons and discover I’m out of printer ink. I want all my discounts with me at all times: oil changes, dinners, dry cleaning…all of it. I’m asking to be marketed to.

Of the three budgets alluded to by Andy Murray, chief executive of in-store-marketing agency Saatchi & Saatchi X, my frustration budget might be tighter than even time or money. Call me crazy, but when you call, be sure to send those offers to my phone.

--Julianne W.