NY Bill Would Require Automatically-Applied Digital Coupons for Seniors

On Thursday, New York State Senator George Borrello introduced legislation that would ensure that digital-only coupons and deals are automatically applied to eligible grocery store purchases of senior citizens and loyalty program members. The ruling is intended to protect a population that may not have the electronic devices needed to activate the discounts.

Borrello explained that as paper coupons for grocery stores and food manufacturers have gradually disappeared, they have been replaced with digital alternatives that typically require online activation on a smartphone.

“Inflation is hurting the budgets of people across the spectrum, particularly those on fixed incomes. In the past, senior citizens could count on being able to reduce their grocery bills by using coupons from the newspaper or by taking advantage of weekly sales on produce, meat, and dairy products,” said Borrello in a statement.

“However, those days are gone. Today, most grocery store coupons and weekly specials are advertised online only and require digital activation to redeem. Loyalty cards are increasingly being replaced with smartphone apps. For seniors who don’t use smartphones, this means they are unfairly deprived of discounts that could help ease the burden of higher grocery costs,” he said.

The legislation states that any grocery store that offers digital coupons would have to automatically apply the coupons for eligible purchases at the point of sale for senior citizens.