It makes sense for a certain type of retailer to keep their brick-and-mortar stores healthy, even as they make a big push into mobile retail. Michaels craft store is one example, and they have introduced a mobile coupon app to get the job done.

Mobile is providing an important alternate means of coupon distribution for Michael’s and other large chains that have traditionally used newspapers for that purpose as more consumers turn toward digital media and away from print.  InternetRetailer.com

17% of us used mobile coupons last year, and the number is growing. For Michaels, one key to driving consumer acceptance still lies in the old circular stuffed into your newspaper. It leads people to the mobile site, and promises them that the coupons they find there will be different from the ones in the paper.  Also, while the coupons in the paper are necessarily general in nature, the mobile coupons can be more easily tailored to the consumer.

Hey, as much as I feel like a hostage every time my wife drags me into Michaels, I really can’t imagine that you would get anywhere NEAR the same experience – getting ideas, seeing completed projects on display, etc. – from simply shopping online.

So what do you think? There have to be some Michaels fans among us! Have you tried the app? What do you think? What other retailers would you like to see try this method?