My mother always taught me to plan my shopping lists around the weekly sale ad. By checking what types of meat, produce and consumer packaged goods (CPG) items are on sale, I can plan ahead for meals and snacks that will give me the best bang for my buck.

However, today’s shoppers seem to prefer to use their smartphones to find the latest deals. More than half of consumers with smartphones use them to compare prices, and 39 percent use them to find deals and discounts, according to an infographic by Cox Media Group.

New technology continues to fuel mobile device usage for shopping, with new apps even rewarding consumers for making purchases. Last month, Groupon launched Snap by Groupon, a new app that pays consumers cash for buying featured grocery items at any retailer in the United States and Canada. Consumers can purchase the featured items of the week, which include specific branded items and regular grocery items, like milk or bread, of any brand; upload photos of their receipts; and receive cash refunds through the app.

Along with benefits for the shopper, Snap by Groupon also presents a marketing opportunity for CPG brands, the company says. The app enables participating CPG brands to connect with shoppers in a personal and targeted way and garner shopper analytics, including in-basket data, through receipt uploads, it says. This can help brands analyze the success of their promotions, influence consumer shopping patterns, and better shape their brand’s future marketing decisions, it notes.

The consumer side of me already is enticed by this notion of cash back, and I’m willing to bet that opportunities like this will help CPG brands find their ways onto more shopping lists and into more carts. 

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