Supermarket retailers Tom Thumb and Randalls, both operated by Safeway, are joining the Cellfire mobile coupon network. According to Supermarket News, members of the chains' loyalty club programs can now have coupons automatically downloaded on their loyalty cards, Retailer Daily reports.

Using Cellfire, registered Tom Thumb and Randalls loyalty club members can obtain access to 21 online coupons from CPG companies including General Mills, Unilever and Kimberly-Clark with a mobile phone or PC. If a customer sees a coupon they like, they can select it to be downloaded to their loyalty card and then have the discount automatically applied at checkout. Cellfire is free to the consumer, but customers may have to pay applicable mobile data charges depending on their cell phone plan.

Tom Thumb and Randalls are capitalizing on increasing consumer interest in online coupons. A 2008 study (pdf) by Coupons, Inc. and Simmons Market Research indicates that the number of Americans using online coupons grew from 26 million in 2005 to 36 million in 2008, with almost half of those users ages 22-44.

A study (pdf) from Scarborough Research corroborated those findings, revealing that between 2005 and 2008, internet coupon usage increased 83%, with 11% of US households taking advantage of them.