Ok, so the headline may be a little harsh. But a new study says one of the newest types of coupons faces some serious hurdles when it comes to being widely used and accepted. And the best way to overcome our resistance to these discount offers is to appeal to our instincts – we want to feel good about ourselves, we want to save money, and we don’t want to have to work for it.

“Consumers’ attitude and adoption of location-based coupons” appears in the latest edition of the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. Its authors examine the benefits and drawbacks of mobile coupons that are tied to your physical location. Walk by a store, for example, and your cell phone may buzz with a discount offer that you can use if you go inside. Walk down a specific aisle of the grocery store, and you may get an alert about a digital coupon for a product that’s on the shelf right in front of you. Here’s the entire Coupons in the News article.