How to save in-store with your smartphone

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I’m not ashamed to admit that I take my loyalty programs very seriously. From Starbucks® to CVS®, I love finding digital tools to help me save money. Being conscious about money is smart and the way that I was raised. I remember sitting with my mom on Sunday mornings where we combed through the newspaper, cut out coupons and then arranged them in an accordion folder. Somehow my mom would manage to take me and my three older sisters to the grocery store and save us money at the same time!

Being rewarded for being a loyal customer makes sense, and any die-hard money-saver can relate to the surge of adrenalin at the checkout, watching as all of the deductions are subtracted from my bill. Equally as emotional, but more unpleasant, is the experience of getting to the counter and realizing that I left my coupons or loyalty card at home. Ugh!! This happens to me more and more, as I am often on the road and trying to keep up with the hectic rush of daily life.

I never considered that my bank could improve my shopping experience, but Capital One is pushing the limits of technology to provide customers with more real-time support within the retail arena. In this new technological age, paper coupons and rewards programs are changing with times. The team of engineers at Capital One are working hard to innovate with data and analytics that build a better customer experience in real time, digital first. It’s a lot of work behind the scenes, but ultimately it is all about creating a super simple interface that feels relevant, seamless and fun.

I got to check out a few of Capital One’s up and coming tools for the extreme saver in all of us. First, the Capital One Wallet is smart phone app that Capital One customers can use to track their purchases in real time and stay organized on the go. A new feature they’re also rolling out to Android users is called “Wallet Discounts Where You Shop”, which uses your location to deliver relevant coupons to the right to the store where you’re shopping! 

Just imagine that as you are browsing in your favorite clothing store then suddenly receive an alert from Capital One letting you know that there is a special 50% off promotion. Tom Poole, ‎Managing VP Digital at Capital One, explains, “Our job is to go out and find every shred of coupon inventory that exists and then filter it for the highest value so that we are not wasting any one’s time.” This means that the coupon alerts you receive are based on data consolidated from your previous purchases, and a complex data crunch of the best deals available --so the coupons are the most valuable and relevant to you.  

This is the kind of personalization that makes the world of bargain shopping so much more fun and effortless. It is a technological stroke of genius to create a coupon push rather than a pull, or clip, system – so you never run the risk of forgetting your coupon at home! These new Wallet features were announced at SXSW in Austin last week. Right now it’s only currently available on the Android platform (but stay tuned!).

Paribus is a second digital tool that Capital One recently acquired to make shopping more convenient, simple and cost-effective. This app automates price protection guarantees at eligible online retailers (including Amazon) – it tracks price fluctuations and navigates diverse store price guarantee policies for you. With Paribus, I can save time and shop with a greater sense of confidence, because I know that if I buy something online and then one day later it goes on sale – I could receive a refund!

In this new digital age we have certainly come a long way from “double coupons.” It is another example of how Capital One is changing the status quo and encouraging me to use bank in new and exciting ways.