SMRB: Increasing number of consumers clicking coupons

Consumers all over the U.S. are coupon-clicking this winter, and recent research from Simmons Market Research Bureau found the numbers are, unsurprisingly, well up on last year.

by Helen Leggatt

Just under 39 million Americans will be making savings using online coupons this year, up 22% from the same period last year, found SMRB's latest research, reports USAToday.com.

A case in point, CoolSavings.com claims over twice as many people printed e-coupons on its site during the months of July through October this year (477,843) than the monthly average for 2007 (213,630).

E-coupons aren't just used by budgeting families. Younger Internet users aren't averse to coupon-clicking either. Steven Boal of Coupons Inc., found that nearly half of clickers are between the ages of 22-44.

"A new generation of shoppers is discovering coupons on the Web and printing coupons is becoming a regular part of a consumer's shopping routine," said Boal.

The advent of mobile coupons is now able to service coupon clickers on the go. They comprise a coupon sent and stored on a mobile phone that can be exchanged for a financial discount or to enable a consumer to participate in a promotion at PoS.

Whichever way they are clicked on or accessed, coupons are set to become a popular and much-used way for consumers to beat the current slump in the economy.

Tags: coupon clicker, coupons, Coupons Inc., m-coupons, PoS, promotions, Simmons, SMRB