She just doesn’t like clipping them.

When my kids were little, I would rip through the Sunday paper looking for coupons on diapers.   I am not much of a coupon person in general, but we went through a lot of diapers and it just seemed silly to pay full price.

Once my kids finally mastered the potty, I said goodbye to diapers and good bye to coupons.  They were just too much trouble to keep up with, organize and keep track of when I went shopping.

But I do like saving money, so I am the perfect target for digital coupons.   Instant savings I can download to my computer as I head out the door, or better yet to my phone.

And I am not alone, it seems the down cycle in the ecomony, along with an increase in technology which delivers coupons has led to the first increase in the use of coupons in almost twenty years.

From a study by coupons.com (ok so maybe they are a little biased) the demographics of the average digital coupon shopper is not the low income, penny pinching  housewife.  Instead, the consumer who prints digital coupons is an attractive target for many products and services.

  • has an average household income of $97,000,
  • a 23 percent higher income level than the U.S average.
  • 34 percent of those who print digital coupons have a college degree (up from 32 percent in 2008), compared to 30 percent of those who use newspaper coupons and 27 percent of the general populace.
  • Users of digital coupons have higher household incomes and are better educated than users of newspaper coupons and the general population.

So what do these numbers mean to you?  As the delivery mechanisms continue to improve, and the economy continues to put pressure on consumer spending, coupons, particularly those delivered digitally can be an excellent incentive for existing and new customers.

Interesting, as I was putting the finisihing touches on this post ( sometimes I write a few weeks out) I read a post by Kyle Lacy on the subject of integrating your marketing, tieing all the elements together, especially when you already use printed coupons in your mix.