San Diego Fights Back Against Digital Coupons

Last week, the San Diego city council passed an ordinance to require stores that advertise digital-only deals to also provide paper versions of those coupons so anyone without digital access or know how can still benefit from the savings.

This is believed to be the first government action to fight digital discrimination in retailing and become law. As readers of Consumer World and Mouse Print* know, consumer advocates have been urging stores to offer easy, offline alternatives to digital coupons so that the many digitally-deprived seniors and lower income folks who have been shut out of these deals can have equal access. [See our series of stories.]

The bill, sponsored by city councilor Sean Elo-Rivera, is elegantly simple:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Any grocery store that offers digital discounts to consumers for the purchase of goods must make physical coupons for the digital price available to consumers upon request.

It also provides that stores post a sign alerting shoppers to this requirement.

Simplicity, sometimes, can have its own issues too. We pointed out to the city councilor that stores in San Diego like Vons and Albertsons offer 400 – 500 digital coupons each week via their apps and websites, and it would be cost prohibitive for stores to have to print a 40 or 50 page book each week with them. We suggested that the law only apply to those digital coupons and digital-only discounts that are advertised to shoppers in their weekly or periodic circulars. He agreed and said they would add clarifying language, but as the ordinance heads to the mayor for his signature, that has not been done yet.

Other states have been considering legislation that would require stores to offer shoppers other easy alternatives to digital coupons. New York and New Jersey in a particular have had bills in their legislature on the subject, but they have yet to pass. Additional states like Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Illinois also are considering similar proposed laws this year. (See update at Coupons in the News.)

And at the beginning of 2025, Stop & Shop, with over 350 supermarkets in the Northeast, rolled out digital coupon kiosks in all their stores so shoppers merely have to scan their loyalty card or enter their phone number and then all that week’s advertised digital coupons are automatically loaded on their account. [See our story.]

Kudos to San Diego for passing their ordinance which goes into effect this summer, and to the other states and stores working to make digital-only deals accessible to everyone.