One of the best ways to maintain a frugal lifestyle is to use coupons and discounts in your every day shopping. The good news is that you have more options than ever when it comes to using coupons. Forrester Research recently released a study that indicates that digital coupon use is on the rise, and that different generations are more likely to use coupons for different items.
How Do You Use Your Coupons?
I’m a big fan of using coupons when I go out to eat, and also for things like movie tickets and amusement parks. It wasn’t surprising, then, to discover that younger consumers are more likely to use coupons on travel and entertainment. When I look for discounts, I frequently look for promos related to hotel stays, car rentals and activities like museum admissions.
However, the older generation is more likely to use coupons for food and beverage purchases. They are more likely to see coupons as tools to help them save money when they go to the grocery store. I rarely use coupons at the grocery store. It seems like a lot of effort to spend the time to look through coupons and sales fliers for the hope of saving $5 on groceries.
Digital Coupons and Smart Phones
Another interesting finding of the study indicates that digital coupons are increasingly popular, and many consumers like the idea of being able to store coupons on their smart phones. Digital coupon redemption increased by 141% from 2012 to 2013. I like digital coupons because I am more likely to shop online, so having digital coupons handy to save money makes sense. On top of that, I often book my travel and entertainment (including for movies) online. Digital coupons and promo codes make it easy for me to reap the savings when I am doing my shopping.
I haven’t tried using coupons in my digital wallet, though. While I often store movie tickets and airline boarding passes on my smart phone, I haven’t tried redeeming coupons this way. However, it looks as though there more consumers are using mobile devices as part of their couponing strategies. Apple’s Passbook application, along with Google Wallet, are two places to store coupons so that they can be retrieved at the grocery store.
On top of that, there are mobile apps that help you search for and save mobile coupons on the things that you are most likely to buy. This can be a very convenient way to store and manage coupons. Some apps will even automatically delete expired coupons so that you don’t have to do it yourself. On top of providing coupons, it’s also possible to find apps that will alert you to deals, help you compare prices, and perform a number of other helpful money-saving functions.
While I use digital coupons online, I have yet to use them in conjunction with my smart phone when I go to the store. However, if I can find an app I like, and that makes sense for me, I might start employing this easier (and less time consuming) way to save money.
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