Coupon clipping is not a sport to be taken lightly. It used to be that coupons were easy to find and clip, then were even easier to double or triple by shopping on certain days. Today, coupons are a bit less common in newspapers, but can still be found online, at cash registers and other locations as well – they just aren’t all in one section of the paper the way they used to be. But it looks as though finding coupons to clip may quickly be becoming a thing of the past. Coupons are going digital.
Digital Coupons
Kroger and Proctor & Gamble have teamed up to try a new digital coupon field test. Digital coupons can be downloaded onto the loyal member card most grocery stores now offer, and then used at the cash register. The only drawback to these digital coupons, other than the public’s fear of anything new, is that they are not eligible to be doubled or tripled.
Leave the Mess
Digital coupons are simple to “clip.” They are available online through the grocery store websites. Currently, digital coupons are limited, but that won’t last too long. Traditional coupons require hours of sorting, cutting and organizing only to have to reorganize and shuffle the little pieces of paper at the cashier while shopping. Coupon clipping can be rewarding, especially on double or triple days, but the work involved is offsetting to many would-be clippers.
Now, however, all of those who would like to take advantage of coupons but don’t have the perseverance to find, cut, and sort all those little squares of paper can simply download coupons to a single card and go. The rewards or member card stores all of the coupons you’ve elected to download and then they are automatically redeemed at the checkout counter when you swipe your loyalty card.
This means coupons are now mess free, already organized and electronically transmitted leaving you free to shop without digging around to be sure you have the right size or the right brand. If you have a coupon for an item, you’ll find out as you pay and reap the rewards.
Virtual Coupon Clippers?
There is speculation that online coupons will be slow to catch on in many circles. Many traditional coupon clippers are not savvy enough online to load up their reward card with virtual coupons and will simply continue to cut and organize paper ones instead. The new virtual coupon movement will be helped along by the young, thrifty, computer savvy generation of shoppers.
Perhaps offering coupons online and bringing in a whole new generation of virtual clippers will help to bring coupons into the forefront of savings options. $3 billion was saved last year using coupons, but that is a tiny percentage of what is available. It is estimated that only one percent of coupons are redeemed, making the coupon and grocery market an area ripe for growth.
