Imagine, electronic coupons, arriving by cell phone, Twitter, e-mail and Facebook, that are helping new, younger customers save money.Many shoppers have avoided coupons printed in newspapers and direct-mail booklets but times are changing.
Just think about all the extra cash you could have, saving ($300 to $500) with electronic coupons.
Coupon use has been dying since 1992 as consumers were somewhat embarrassed using them, besides they were a hassle.
But as the economy has tightened the old became new again, frugal became smart and it is no longer an embarrassment.
Use of electronic discounts and coupons more than doubled in the first half of 2009. They now account for more than 3 percent of all coupons used, up from roughly 2 percent in 2008.
That may represent a small part of the total coupons used but they have a strong potential, growing more popular and providing a new way for shoppers to stretch already tight budgets.
Users can print digital coupons from Web sites or e-mail, but many are entirely electronic. They can be uploaded to a store's loyalty card or arrive on a cell phone 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.
As retailers continue to reach out to potential customers and the ones they already have, electronic coupons offer the same benefits for retailers as any discount program: driving consumer traffic, building loyalty, increasing sales and attracting new customers.
And coupon aggregators such as Coupons.com and Cellfire say online coupon users tend to skew younger and more affluent than the traditional coupon user. Cellfire, for example, says 60 percent of its users are between 18 and 35.
Experts say both electronic and traditional print formats are likely to grow, though it will be a while before they match the all-time peak in coupon use of 7.9 billion in 1992. In 2008, consumers redeemed just 2.6 billion coupons of all types.
