Coupons, Inc. acquires Grocery IQ

One of the best ways to reach in-market consumers these days is where they live - through their mobile devices. With more and more people choosing not to leave home without their cell phones, hand helds and laptops it makes sense for marketers to invest more in mobile applications.

by Kristina Knight

The deal between Coupons, Inc. and Grocery IQ is another way for marketers to reach consumers in-market - literally. Grocery IQ is the leading lifestyle iPhone application in the US; it helps consumers in grocery stores find the products they need. Consumers can create personal shopping lists based on product locations throughout a store, store locations, personal buying history and even customizing item sizes.

"Integrating GroceryIQ into Coupons, Inc.'s innovative digital promotions platform will enable us to benefit from the next generation of coupon delivery technology, making the acquisition an excellent strategic fit," said Jason Boehle, Co-Founder of Free State Labs. "We'll be able to empower even more users who are looking to save time and money while avoiding some of the headaches of grocery shopping."

The new platform will help marketers reach consumers in store by matching Coupons.com coupons with consumer's shopping lists; consumers can redeem the coupons from their mobile devices.

In 2008 more than 30 million consumers used mobile coupons; consumers using online coupons only (rather than clipping coupons from newspapers) increased by 50%. In 2008 Coupons Inc expects to help consumers save around $1 billion.