News and PR Page ...

JUNE 2007
Coupon Scanner Sparks Increase
In Redemption, Store Sales
By Jack Grant

Customers with loyalty cards at Paw Paw Shopping Center are redeeming more paper coupons and contributing more to store sales. But it’s not the cards that are responsible for the increased business. It’s a unique personal Coupon Scanner that these shoppers are using as they visit the store more than ever before.   

The scanner, developed by ScanAps, is taking store loyalty and sales to a higher level at the independent store in Paw Paw, Mich. Analysis of six months of shopper activity from Oct. 1, 2006 through March 31, 2007 has shown a significant boost in business when compared to the same period the previous year. Here are the specifics:

• Total coupon redemptions increased 8.04%

• Total store sales increased 19.18%

• Average number of coupons redeemed per card members using the Coupon Scanner increased 172.06% compared     to an increase of 28.13% for card holders without the   Coupon Scanner.

• Average spend per customer increased 117.93% for card members with the Coupon Scanner compared to a boost of 19.10% for card members without the Coupon Scanner.  

• Average number of visits for card members with the Coupon Scanner increased 156.35% compared to an increase of 11.78% for card members without the Coupon Scanner.

Vijay Chetty, president and CEO of Los Angeles-based ScanAps, and Marv Imus, president of Paw Paw Shopping Center , talked about their experience with the Coupon Scanner recently at the Industry Coupon Conference sponsored by the Association of Coupon Professionals (www.couponpros.com).

The Coupon Scanner is a mini-key chain scanner branded and distributed by retailers to their shoppers. It is programmed to function exclusively in the chain of stores authorized by the retailer. Customers just scan their coupons at home, dock the scanner in a special kiosk at checkout, and redeem the coupons with their order.

“Manufacturers drop over $300 billion of coupons each year,” said Chetty. “Our Coupon Scanner will encourage customers to use those coupons exclusively in the stores that issue the scanner and increase customer retention and revenues. For consumers, Coupon Scanner will make it simple and convenient to use coupons and save time and money.

“For manufacturers,” he added, “the system eliminates the manual error-prone, labor-intensive clearing process and saves them over $200 million in coupon processing fees and over $300 million in coupon fraud and misredemptions.”

A program that can work along with the Coupon Scanner is Targeted Individual Promotion Software (TIPS) which creates a “Promotion Bank” for each shopper. It enables manufacturers, retailers, and third parties to load electronic promotions for each shopper and define the “rules of redemption.” TIPS serves as an independent third party that validates and delivers those electronic promotions to the point-of-sale in real time. TIPS also downloads coupons from the Coupon Scanner to the customers’ Promotion Bank.

“Existing loyalty programs have become a commodity,” said Chetty. “Everyone who swipes a plastic loyalty card is given the same amount of discount on any item that is on sale, regardless of a customer’s level of loyalty to a store or brand.

“TIPS will help retailers and manufacturers to truly differentiate their shoppers and give appropriate prices and discounts by item via their Promotion Bank. TIP will help retailers and manufacturers move away from a ‘one-price-fits-all’ price and promotion model to a customer-centric one-to-one price and promotion model.”

http://www.cpgmatters.com/coupons0607.html

Coupons on a key chain
A new USB scanner lets you 'virtually' clip n' save.

By Ian Mount, FSB Magazine
September 22 2006 : 11:54 AM EDT

(FSB Magazine) -- Do you clip coupons? If so, you're in the minority. Fewer than 1% of coupons ever get redeemed, according to coupon-processing firm CMS.

Vijay Chetty and Fred Paul , co-founders of ScanAps in Los Angeles , think they've figured out how to change that - and save manufacturers and grocers money and time.

ScanAps makes a USB scanner that fits on a key chain and lets shoppers scan paper-coupon bar codes at home and download them in the store.

"We're taking the paper out of the cycle," says Chetty, 45, adding that today's coupons pass through eight pairs of hands between the consumer and store reimbursement, a process that can take four months and costs an average of 24 cents a coupon.

In a late 2004 test at the Green Hills supermarket in Syracuse , N.Y. , shoppers who used the device spent 8.3% more and used 26% more coupons, Chetty claims. ScanAps, which has raised $2.2 million, is discussing larger pilots with one national and two regional grocery chains.

http://money.cnn.com

Coupon Zapping Key chain

Do you clip coupons? Me neither. We're not alone. Fewer than 1 percent of coupons ever get redeemed. But ScanAps thinks it has figured out how to change that -- and save manufacturers and grocers money and time. It's a USB scanner that fits on a key chain and lets shoppers scan paper-coupon bar codes at home and download them in the store. In tests with the device, consumers spent 8.3 percent more and used 26 percent more coupons. Hmmm . . . it might work.

http://www.boston.com

Personal Coupon Scanner Aims to Increase Loyalty

A unique way to increase loyalty to stores and brands is being piloted in Paw Paw, Michigan . A one-store independent grocer there, Paw Paw Shopping Center , is testing a unique program that allows shoppers to scan coupons at home and redeem them electronically in the supermarket. 

The program was developed by ScanAps, a Los Angeles-based provider of enterprise solutions for retailers and CPG manufacturers. Vijay Chetty , president and chief executive officer of ScanAps, and Marv Imus, president of Paw Paw Shopping Center , explained the program in a presentation at the annual Global Electronic Marketing Conference (GEMCON) recently in Park City , Utah .

The process begins at home where shoppers use a mini key-ring scanner to scan and store barcodes from FSIs or direct mail coupons. Shoppers rent the scanner for one dollar per month, or they can buy one for $49.95.

After shoppers scan the coupons at home, they bring the scanner to the store to download the data into a special docking station or a kiosk. They can print out their scanned coupons at home or at the kiosk in the store.

The coupons are redeemed when the promoted items are scanned at checkout. The system validates, redeems, and clears these coupons in the store. Shoppers can only redeem the scanned coupons at Paw Paw Shopping Center . 

“Coupon Scanner is a ‘win-win’,” said Chetty of ScanAps. “It makes it easy for consumers to use coupons, gives an incentive for shoppers to come back to the store, and introduces the long-coveted electronic coupon clearing for manufacturers.”

Another part of the ScanAps program is in-lane promotion program called TIPS (Targeted Individual Promotion Software). It enables retailers and CPG manufacturers to deliver in real time different discounts for the same products at the same time from the same store to different customers based on their level of loyalty to store and the brand.

“TIPS enables retailers to offer the best prices to their best customers,” said Chetty. “TIPS integrates retailers’ and manufacturers’ in-store promotions into one platform. Manufacturers can now deliver targeted promotions to shoppers directly from each retail store.”

www.CPGmatters.com

FIRST IN FOOD RETAILING NEWS I Monday October 23, 2006

Paw Paw Launches Coupon Scanner Program
By MICHAEL GARRY

Paw Paw Michigan – Paw Paw Shopping Center , a one-store independent here, has begun enrolling shoppers in a pro- ram that allows them to scan coupons at home and redeem them electronically in the store.

The program from ScanAps, Los Angeles , is making its de- but at Paw Paw, though it was previously tested for three or four months at Green Hills, a one-store independent in Syracuse, N.Y.

To participate in the pro- gram, shoppers pay a $1 monthly fee for a personal coupon scanner that scans up to 150 bar-coded coupons at a time. The scanner suitable for a key chain, can also be purchased for $49.95.

The scanner, made by Symbol Technologies, can be linked to a home computer (via serial or USB connection) to transfer coupon data to Paw Paw’s web site, www.pawpawshop.com.

Alternately, shoppers can bring the scanner into the store and download the coupon data into a kiosk or into docking stations at the POS. Shoppers can print out a lost of scanned coupons at home or at the kiosk.

redeemed when a shopper’s discounted products are scanned at the POS. The coupons are then electronically cleared for manufacturers, circumventing the circuitous manual process through which coupons are processed. Shoppers can redeem the scanned coupons only at Paw Paw.

Participating shoppers “don’t have to bring paper coupons in or worry about whether they clipped them,” said Marv Imus, president, Paw Paw Shopping Center . Imus discussed the program at GEMCON, the Global Electronic Marketing Conference, held October 9-11 at The Canyons, Park City , Utah .

Upward of 200 shoppers have signed up for the program since Imus launched it on October 1. Vijay Chetty , president and chief executive officer, ScanAps, projected between 300-500 participants at Paw Paw.

shopping behavior. ScanAps hosts the coupon data.

“People want something to manage their coupons, and this manages their coupons,” Imus said. The program is “easy to bring up and it’s easy to train cashiers,” he added.

Imus said he views the ScanAps program as a way to hold onto shoppers in this highly competitive marketplace in Western Michigan , which includes Wal-Mart Super Centers and Meijer stores. The program will also save time at the front end and reduce coupon handling time.

A retailer’s investment in the program includes ScanAps software, docking stations and kiosk.

http://www.supermarketnews.com

SCANAPS PROVIDES COUPONS ON A KEYCHAIN...

ScanAps in Los Angeles has found a way for consumers to redeem coupons without taking the time to clip them. The company’s USB scanner that fits on a keychain allows shoppers to scan paper coupon bar codes and download them in the store.

“We’re taking the paper out of the cycle,” said co-founder Vijay Chetty, adding that today’s coupons pass through eight pairs of hands between the consumer and store reimbursement, a process that can take four months and cost an average of 24 cents per coupon.

ScanAps products include the coupon scanner and targeted individual promotion software (TIPS). The scanner fits on a key-chain and is branded and distributed by retailers to customers and programmed to function exclusively in the chain of stores that issues the scanner. Customers scan coupons at home from newspapers, magazines and direct mail. At the store, customers dock the scanner and redeem the coupon at POS in real time. The paper coupon is eliminated and an electronic coupon clearing solution is provided.

TIPS is a real-time management solution that lets retailers and manufacturers give different amounts of discounts and prices on the same items to different customers based on their purchase history so retailers can move to a “customer centric one-to-one price and promotion model.”

A retailer’s investment in the program includes ScanAps software, docking stations and kiosk.

(866) 472-2627 or www.ScanAps.com