San Diego says that digital coupons are not fair. Here is what they do about it

San Diego is on the way to become the country’s first city to prohibit grocery stores from offering only digital coupons, citing a lack of access to the Internet and smartphones by certain buyers.

The ban is designed to force grocery stores to provide paper coupons to everyone, including older buyers who are not as informed as young buyers. But commercial groups against grocers repel the new law.

While grocers still distribute coupons via mailboxes or as an inserts in a newspaper, the offers have evolved to meet consumers on their smartphones via mobile applications and reception boxes by email.

In 2022, 91% of Americans used at least one coupon and more than 178 million adults in the United States bought a digital coupon (which includes downloadable coupons, mobile coupons, reduction codes and automatic discounts), according to a recent capital purchase report.

The number of users of digital coupons increased regularly up to 10 million adults each year from 2015 to 2022.

Some of these offers, and in particular for grocery customers, often require that desktop or application users create an online account or to link their existing membership number with an online profile.

It is there that the member of the Municipal Council of San Diego, Sean Elo-Rivera, says that there is a digital barrier for residents who have no access to the Internet or smartphones, who are learners in English or who are tired of sharing their personal information online.

That lacks digital offers only

In the jurisdiction of Elo-Rivera, the 9th district of the city, he said that three eminent groups lacked money coupons due to transactions only online.

The first includes elderly people, 65 and over, living with fixed income. It is a population that represents 14% of the city, including many that may not be technologically warned. He told Times that his ban had been supported by the elderly of non -profit services, whose members and volunteer staff have encountered problems with obtaining online transactions.

The second group is made up of individuals born outside the United States and the first language of which is not English. The staff of the employee rights center told Elo-Rivera that members of the community of immigrants and refugees “did not necessarily have the linguistic capacity to navigate the complex system (online) necessary to access the price (transaction or online coupon),” he said.

Finally, Elo-Rivera underlines the residents of San Diego who have no internet access, which represents around 53,000 households, according to the office of the member of the Council.

He also underlined an AARP 2022 report which indicated that 25% of the country’s older adults lacked internet connectivity and 39% are without mobile phone, which makes digital coupons out of reach for older Americans. AARP California publicly supported the order of the member of the Council.

These statistics, which come from the Pew Research Center, have since been updated: 30% of the elderly lack internet connectivity and 24% are without smartphones.

How the city of San Diego wants to fill the digital fracture

To fight against the digital barrier, Elo-Rivera co-wrote the ban on the digital coupon in order to make the discounts available to everyone-including those that are unable to navigate or do not have access to online offers.

The effort to create capital on customer offers occurs at a time when the cost of staple food continues to increase, according to the Nielsen IQ. Data collected at the counter at the cash desk between March 9, 2024 and March 1, 2025 showed that chicken breast prices increased the book by $ 0.30, reaching an average of $ 5.75 per book. The cost of a miche bread increased by $ 0.06, which means that consumers pay an average of $ 3.06 per bread.

The California Groocers Assn. wishes more information on how buyers are affected by digital incentives and if there are other alternatives to resolve the problem instead of adopting a ban, said Nate Rose, group spokesperson.

“Is there another way for the city itself to tackle the digital divide with training or assistance program?” Rose asked.

The grocers were not invited to be part of the conversation with Elo-Rivera and the City, and many supermarket chains were not aware of the prescription before its initial passage on Monday despite the city’s public opinions since October.

To completely replace online offers with printing coupons that are available for everyone, the programs loyalty point, said Rose.

“From the point of view of the grocery store, (there are) a lot of boost of mixed messages by reducing your environmental footprint, but by the same token, please print thousands of coupons,” he said.

Wisses who have been contacted by the association say that they are not ready to make such changes exclusively for stores in the city of San Diego but not for stores in neighboring cities, said Rose.

“We hope the city will come back from that, honestly,” he said.

In 2022, consumer defenders called on large supermarket channels to make the coupons digital available to everyone, according to the Massachusetts Public Interest Network. In response, Stop & Shop, the largest northeast channel, established kiosks in 2024 where customers can scan their loyalty reward card or enter their phone number to access “their digital coupons and activate personal offers according to their shopping history”.

When this ban comes into force?

The order will take place before the municipal council for second reading and final approval in two weeks. After becoming a law, San Diego grocers have 90 days to comply.

How will this ban be implemented?

The ordinance does not define how grocers must respect the law to come.

Elo-Rivera has shared some ideas on how grocers can respect the law, including supply:

• A small grocery coupons booklet.
• Physical coupons offered near the articles on the shelf – similar to a coupons distributor.
• A livret of online coupons that a cashier can look for grocers in the register.