OAN Staff Abril Elfi
4:49 PM – Wednesday, March 26, 2025
San Diego has become the first city to prohibit digital-only coupons, aiming to ensure equal access to discounts for all consumers.
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The San Diego City Council voted to prohibit grocery stores from exclusively offering digital coupons, citing concerns that such practices disproportionately disadvantage low-income families and senior citizens.
Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera led the fight to adopt the Grocery Pricing Transparency Ordinance. He argued that seniors and low-income families who are unable to take advantage of these digital discounts are unfairly charged greater costs.
“Simplest policy we’ve ever written. If you offer a discount digitally, there must be a way to physically access that discount in the store. So that can be a coupon, right? A physical coupon is right there with the item. It can be coupons when you walk in the door, or at the checkout register, the way we all used to shop,” he said during an interview with CBS 8 Monday morning.
Elo-Rivera’s council colleagues agreed, voting unanimously in favor of the bill at a March 24th hearing.
Councilmember Elo-Rivera stated that his father, who is in his 70s, inspired him to initiate the notion. On several instances, his father reportedly expressed frustration regarding how he could not access the digital discounts, or on other occasions, that they flat-out didn’t work.
He also emphasized that there is a “digital divide,” meaning that customers who do not have access to the internet, or those who are not as tech-savvy, are unable to save as much as others without the same issues.
“Even if you have a digital coupon, it doesn’t always work. Maybe when you scanned it on your phone, it didn’t apply to your bill properly, or there was a glitch in your app. If the paper coupon is there,” he said. “You should be able to get the promised discount.”
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