Walmart doesn’t offer digital coupons, doesn’t accept coupons on online orders, and using paper coupons in the store can sometimes turn into a hassle for couponers and cashiers alike. But a new proposal suggested by the country’s largest retailer could make couponing at Walmart a breeze.

In a newly-published patent application, succinctly titled “Mobile Coupon System”, Walmart describes a process that would allow you to combine all of your coupons – digital and paper – into a single bar code that can be scanned at the checkout, or even while shopping online.

It’s a potentially game-changing idea in theory, though it’s unclear exactly how it might work in practice.

Walmart describes a typical in-store shopping scenario, in which a shopper “brings in stacks of coupons”. Checking out with said stacks “is a time-consuming process for the customers, as well as cashiers, and is not sustainable in the growing mobile world,” the patent application reads. Scanning paper coupons one by one “greatly increases the waiting time for customers at checkout registers, which in turn decreases the amount of items sold, productivity, and many other qualities.”  Entire article from Coupons in the News here.

SavingStar has gotten a much-needed shot in the arm. The rebate app, which not too long ago seemed to be struggling to keep up with its larger competitors, has now been acquired by Coupons.com owner Quotient Technology. And both companies are promising big benefits, for both brands and shoppers.

The deal marks the second time Quotient has purchased a rebate app, and the second time SavingStar has paired up with another savings platform. So maybe the second time’s the charm – for Quotient, SavingStar, their partner brands and their users.

There’s been no big announcement about the acquisition as yet. Rather, in what appears to be its first public comment about the purchase, Quotient mentioned it almost in passing yesterday afternoon. The news showed up in the twelfth paragraph of a press release announcing Quotient’s financial results for the third quarter of 2018, and was briefly brought up during a subsequent conference call with investors – even though the deal closed during the third quarter, which ended back on September 30th.  Entire Coupons in the News article here.

Some savings apps and loyalty programs let you earn coupons and discounts as you shop, while others make you accumulate points that you can redeem for rewards down the line. That’s all well and good. But two new surveys find that what shoppers would really prefer, is cold, hard cash.

“When it comes to shopping rewards, cash back is king,” announced Swagbucks, which runs a cash-back rewards program. “What drives consumers’ motivation is simple: cash,” announced Dosh, which runs a cash-back rewards program.

So it’s a good thing these companies that run cash-back rewards programs found that shoppers like getting cash back!  Here’s the entire article link.

If you’re a fan of bargains, you’re likely accustomed to stalking the clearance section of your local grocery store, looking for expiring or discontinued items that have been slashed to sell.

But you never know what, if anything, you’re going to find – and you might miss a good deal if you aren’t fortunate enough to shop on just the right day. So what if you could clearance-shop from the comfort of your home, stocking up on deeply-discounted food items before anyone else can grab them?

A new app is making that possible, as it expands into U.S. stores from its Canadian home base for the first time.  Read the entire, interesting article from Coupons in the News here.

Would you shop at a messy, dirty grocery store if the prices are low? Would you shop at a store with great prices and selection, where overly-friendly employees insist on offering help whether you want it or not?

A new survey of grocery shoppers shows what attributes they look for in choosing a favorite grocery store – and what turns them off from ever shopping at certain stores again.

Market research company TrendSource has released its 2018 Grocery Industry Report, which asked shoppers about everything from selection to savings, from store cleanliness to self-checkout.

The first thing they found was that three-quarters of respondents report having a favorite grocery store, while the other one-quarter will shop wherever. As you might expect, seniors are most likely to have settled on a favorite, while younger shoppers are more likely to shop around. Here’s the Coupons in the News article.

Pizza Hut may be taking its pie-making show on the road.

A new automated pizza-making robot prototype that cooks pizzas on the way to customers’ homes is set to be unveiled Tuesday at the Specialty Equipment Market Association’s annual automotive specialty products show in Las Vegas.  Entire article from USA Today here.

Some people will stop at nothing to get their hands on some extra coupons. Many people over the years have been nabbed stealing coupons out of newspaper vending machines, swiping bundles of Sunday newspapers from stores, taking coupon inserts from newspaper distribution centers and even grabbing newspapers right out of people’s driveways.

But a Minnesota woman is accused of taking “extreme couponing” to new extremes – by allegedly driving through neighborhoods, opening people’s mailboxes and stealing the contents in the hopes of finding coupons.  Read the entire article here.

When proximity beacons were first introduced and envisioned as a coupon-delivery device, the possibilities seemed both endless and inviting. Nearby stores could send alerts to your phone about sales happening inside! Coupons could pop up on your phone for products in the very grocery aisle you’re standing in!

In reality, though, who wants their phone constantly buzzing with ads and offers? There’s a fine line between relevant coupons and unwanted spam. And now, Google is acknowledging as much, by pulling the plug on a once-promising method of delivering alerts and offers to your phone. Here’s the entire article from Coupons in the News.

One of the first rules of effective couponing is to give up your brand loyalties. To save the most money, you need to be willing to buy whatever brand you can get for the lowest price, using some combination of coupons, rebates and sales.

But are these really hard-and-fast rules that all coupon users follow? Not according to a new study, which shows that many coupons succeed in driving trial and encouraging repeat purchases – just as the coupon issuers hoped and intended.  Read more from Coupons in the News.

McDonald’s has announced new breakfast sandwiches that are not for the faint of heart or gut — the Triple Breakfast Stacks, breakfast sandwiches that involve two sausage patties, two slices of cheese, bacon and egg.

The new sandwiches will be available for “a limited time” beginning Nov. 1, McDonald’s said in a news release Tuesday evening. On an earnings call with analysts Tuesday, executives said the company is in “street fight” with other fast-food chains over customer traffic, even as it works on modernizing its 14,000 U.S. restaurants.

CEO Steve Easterbrook hinted at new breakfast offerings — as well as a “classic meal deal” coming soon — on that call. The company later came out with the specifics after Business Insider reported on the breakfast menu addition.

The Triple Breakfast Stacks are the first new breakfast items at McDonald’s since the fast-food chain launched the Egg White Delight McMuffin in 2013. They’ll be available on McGriddles, McMuffins or biscuits.  This story appears in the 10/24 Chicago Tribune.