Google Powers Digital Coupons with Zavers (Jan. 22, 2013)
Jan. 22, 2013
Google Inc. is adding digital muscle to coupons with Zavers by Google, a paperless couponing system introduced earlier this month that enables consumers to capture coupons online and redeem them automatically through store loyalty cards, tracking their deals through a computer browser or any mobile phone. The system is designed to give companies offering coupons detailed information about consumer preferences and redemption patterns, enabling more precise marketing, according to Google.
Consumers can take advantage of coupon deals by visiting the Zavers Website to set up an account and link their information to the loyalty cards of participating stores. Consumers can then click on appealing deals and save them to their Zavers accounts, where they will be automatically redeemed during the checkout process when using participating stores’ loyalty cards. A smattering of supermarkets, including A&P, Pathmark and BI-LO have signed on, along with consumer product marketers General Mills, ConAgra and Coca-Cola Co., among others. Google, which purchased Kansas City, Kan.-based Zave Networks in 2010, also recently integrated Zavers by Google into Google Wallet, the company said.
Enabling consumers to select and save coupons to a central database helps refine offers stores can send to consumers via their Zavers account online or via text messages, “so dog owners don’t get cat food coupons,” Spencer Spinell, director of emerging platforms for Google Commerce, wrote in a recent Google blog post. The system “gives manufacturers new ways to measure coupon redemptions and analyze consumer preferences so they can manage distribution, tailor campaigns and optimize budgets for maximum ROI,” he added.
