Checkout 51 was released in early December and looks to change the way coupons are redeemed, thanks to the iPhone. Here’s how it works, as explained to us by Checkout 51’s founder, Noah Godfrey:
Every Thursday, the Checkout 51 mobile app gives its members a new list of offers on grocery store products. Members can purchase products from the list at any store in Canada and use the app to take a photo of the receipt. Checkout 51 then confirms the purchase and credits the member’s account. When a member’s account reaches $20, Checkout 51 sends them a cheque.
We asked Godfrey what inspired them to come up with this innovative Canadian coupon model. Godfrey notes they “wanted to build something to bring the coupon into the mobile age, eliminate the paper, and make it easy for everyone to be a smart shopper.” That’s how Checkout 51 was born.
What makes their app unique, Godfrey notes is their better proposition for both shoppers and brands. Since Checkout 51 is an app on its own, it does not require retailers to integrate coupons into their point-of-sale hardware, which makes it a seamless implementation. Not only that, Godfrey says “brands can set a specific offer budget, target discounts to specific shoppers, and deliver the offers to shoppers while they are in-store and on their smartphone.”
As for the Checkout 51 business model? It works exactly like regular coupons–brands pay the face value of the coupon that goes to consumers, and Checkout 51 receives a fee for distributing and processing the offer.
The app is very simple to use and currently features major brands available from most retailers with mainstream products from Kraft, Coca-Cola and McCain for example. The design of the app is clutter free which makes it quick and easy to use. All you need to do is to remember to take a picture of your receipt (long receipts are able to be snapped into multiple images). The only downside as seen by some people is the Facebook login requirement. To solve that, just create a Facebook account (even a dummy account for online logins if you have to).
Update: Godfrey says a future update will allow sign in via email instead of Facebook.
Godfrey notes they do have plans for digital payments instead of sending out paper cheques, something along the lines of PayPal being a possible option.
Click here to download Checkout 51–it’s free. If you’ve been using this app, tell us what you think of it.
Update: The latest Checkout 51 update introduces login with email or Facebook:
What’s New in Version 2.2
Now you can login with your email address or Facebook account! Also adds the ability for you to control in-app weekly notifications and change/reset your password.
