Kroger acquires digital coupon platform

CINCINNATI — Kroger on Tuesday announced it has purchased the assets of You Technology Brand Services, a Silicon Valley-based platform of digital coupons and promotions.

"You Tech's nimble and innovative digital coupon platform has enabled Kroger to deliver hundreds of millions of digital coupons to Kroger customers," stated Jeff Talbot, Kroger's VP customer loyalty. "This is a good strategic fit for both Kroger and You Tech. This transaction is consistent with our digital customer growth plan and provides Kroger a significant opportunity to expand our presence in Silicon Valley, enhancing our exposure to new technologies."

"We intend to build and grow the premier retailer and customer-centric digital coupon platform in the industry, while continuing to deliver for our broad base of retail customers," said Cheryl Black, You Tech's CEO. "We look forward to partnering with Kroger and other retailers and CPG companies to continue driving growth."

Founded in 2008, You Tech's retailer-centric, cloud-based platform bridges the gap between online engagement and in-store purchases, creating a measurable way to drive consumer purchase decisions online, in-store and on-the-go, the company stated. Its network, which includes Kroger.com/digitalcoupons, has grown dramatically and now includes more than 10,000 retail stores representing more than $100 billion in retail sales and 100 million U.S. households. 

You Tech will continue to serve existing and future retail customers. Financial terms of the transaction, which closed today, were not disclosed.

Customer use of digital coupons has accelerated exponentially over the past several years. Kroger began offering digital coupons in late 2009 and reached 500 million digital coupon downloads about three years later. Customers have downloaded more than 400 million more digital coupons in just the last 12 months, Kroger reported.