Coupons used to arrive in the mailbox or the Sunday paper, but with the digital age, many stores turned to digital deals.
"What the stores were doing is, everything was electronic to be able to get the coupons," said Bonnie Ann Dowd, a Rancho Bernardo resident.
She tries to use coupons frequently, but said digital coupons could be especially difficult for older adults to access.
"When you start looking at the two populations, you look at a population of us that are sort of growing older, and maybe have never used technology ... we were being cut out," she said.
In April, the San Diego City Council unanimously approved an ordinance banning digital-only deals in grocery stores.
Deals must be available to all shoppers, without requiring digital access.
On Wednesday, city leaders and resource advocates held a town hall to highlight the importance of the ordinance and the rollout.
"Kroger for example, is going to have a kiosk where you can just touch a screen and say, 'Oh, I want this coupon, this coupon, and this coupon.' We've heard of Ralphs just doing it at the cashier. And so if you ask for it, they have their own barcode they scan to give you the digital discount you're asking for," said San Diego City Council Member Marni von Wilpert.
She said the idea of the ordinance is to offer equal access to discounts to everybody, tech savvy or not.
"What this means for the average person, this means it's easier to save 10, 15, 20 bucks every single time you go to the grocery store. That adds up," said San Diego city council member, Sean Elo-Rivera.
Grocery stores have until Oct. 1 to be in compliance, but the ordinance only affects stores within San Diego city limits.
Elo-Rivera and von Wilpert said they will pitch the idea for a county-wide initiative, but encourage the public to advocate with their county representatives.
