PORTLAND, Ore. — Electronic coupons, arriving by cellphone, Twitter, e-mail and Facebook, are helping generate an old standby’s comeback and bringing in new, younger customers.
Many shoppers, especially young consumers such as 30-year-old April Engelbert, used to reject coupons printed in newspapers and direct-mail booklets as passe or cumbersome.
But Englebert, an accounting clerk in Portland, Ore., was so thrilled when she cut her monthly grocery bill from $500 to $300, mainly with electronic coupons, that she recruited friends and co-workers to try them.
“It’s awesome,” Englebert said. “There is a lot of free stuff to be had.”
Coupon use had been declining since 1992 as consumers found less need for or some embarrassment in using them. But as the economy worsened, frugal became cool and their popularity grew.
Use of electronic discounts and coupons more than doubled in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year as overall coupon use rose 23 percent, according to coupon-processing company Inmar Inc. They now account for more than 3 percent of all coupons used, up from roughly 2 percent in 2008.
While they still represent a small part of the total coupons used, they have strong potential — growing quickly and providing a new way for shoppers to stretch increasingly tight budgets.
“It does take some significant outside forces for people to wake up and pay attention to the savings opportunities available to them,” said Matthew Tilley, director of marketing for Inmar.
On a recent shopping trip to the grocery store, Englebert tucked a clutch of offers under her tattooed arm. Besides the store’s printed circular, there were manufacturers’ coupons she’d gotten by e-mail and coupons she’d bought on eBay. Using in-store sales and coupons, she bought 14 items — including macaroni and cheese, meat and other items — for a grand total of $5.98, saving $24.88.
Englebert said she spends about five hours a week hunting for coupons — checking her favorite blogs for the hot deals of the day, searching manufacturer websites for special promotions and finding groups on Facebook or through Twitter feeds, among other tools.
Users can print digital coupons from websites or e-mail, but many are entirely electronic. They can be uploaded to a store’s loyalty card or arrive on a cellphone as a promotion code or image. There are also iPhone applications, hand-held devices in stores and screens built into grocery cart handles that alert shoppers to deals in stores. And retailers continue to try new formats.
Helpful hints
Coupons are increasingly available by phone, e-mail and online. Here are hints on tracking down deals:SEEK: Rather than wait for a coupon for your favorite cereal to show up, go online. Dozens of websites are searchable by retailer and product category. At , and many others, you just click on the coupon you want and print it out.
Services like deliver the deals you choose to your cellphone or let you upload them to your grocery store loyalty card. Also check the websites of companies that make your favorite products for offers.
STUDY: Numerous websites and blogs are dedicated to the art of couponing and finding the best deals. For example, , which focuses on low-cost food shopping, offers tips for beginners.
SIGN UP: Get your favorite stores’ loyalty cards, which offer exclusive deals. Sign up for your favorite companies’ Twitter feeds, check their Facebook pages and get on their e-mail lists for deals. The Associated Press
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to an error by The Associated Press, this story misspelled the last name of a frequent coupon user. Her
name is April Engelbert.
