Coupon Clipping Is Going High Tech, Forget About Scissors

With the recession in full swing, most of us are looking for ways to save a little money. And one of the old tried and true methods, coupons, is getting a real makeover.

These days you can scour the internet for coupons before you go shopping and print them out on your printer, or better yet, have them added to your grocery store shopping card or your smart phone.

Currently online coupons account for 1% of all coupons offered nationwide, but their use is growing at an astronomical rate. Manufacturers love them because they have a 13% redemption rate compared to just 1% for printed coupons. And now large grocery chains are getting in on the act. In January, Kroger announced that it would be rolling its free text messaging coupon program out nationally. Each Sunday, members enrolled in this program can view coupons on their phone and click on the ones that they want added to their Kroger loyalty card. When they purchase the product in the coupon, the register automatically applies the coupon to that sale.

If you still like to put your hands on the coupons, try www.coupons.com, a site that lets you print out online coupons from large food manufacturers and national grocery chains. Last year people printed coupons worth over $300 million from this site alone.

Word to the wise. Coupon deals have got chintzier over the past several decades. In 1990 the average expiration date on coupons was 4.9 months, while the average now is only 2.5 months. Also, in 1995 only 13% of coupons required shoppers to purchase two or more items while in 2008 that number jumped up to 27%.

Check with your local grocery store chain to see what types of paperless coupon options they are offering. You just might find an easy way to get your piece of that $300 million pie.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we want to help our clients and others as much as possible. If you would like help with your insurance policies, please give us a call, toll free at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.clinardinsurance.com. We specialize in personalized insurance programs for your auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance as well as business insurance for used car dealers, garage and repair shops, small contractors and other small businesses. We’d love to help you, please give us a call.


The source information for this article was pulled from the Clinard Insurance Group tips and tricks blog.