NTT Docomo Inc., the nation's largest mobile carrier, will be the latest organization to take a bite out of food loss and waste, a global issue that amounts to hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
In an experiment starting Friday, users of Docomo's point-based membership program visiting a supermarket in Tokyo's Chuo Ward will be able to earn back around 20 percent of the purchase price of products with short expiration dates in the form of loyalty points.
That's 20 times the amount of "d-points" a customer can commonly accumulate through purchases. One such point is worth ¥1. The points can be used at the roughly 30,000 stores nationwide that participate in the program. The carrier has over 63 million d-point users.
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