Coupons? Aren’t they meant for older women with too much free time and more cats than they know what to do with? According to a recent study, consumers save $3.4 billion a year by using coupons and promo codes. Still think this is a trick from your grandmother’s generation?
Today’s coupons are powered by cutting-edge technology and facilitated by cutting-edge devices for an innovative experience that offers a quick, easy, and convenient way to find, use, and save money.
Now that you’re convinced of this idea, the only question is which coupon sites and apps will actually save you money. Discover a few ways to separate the good from the bad so you can find all the deals and great savings you’re looking for.
Savings Style
The app’s functionality and the types of coupons available are the first starting points for ranking a site. Does the service offer printable, scannable, or linkable coupons? Are there any discounts or just coupon codes? Groupon offers convenient downloadable coupons for instant purchases and direct delivery, which is what makes this site a real success. On the other hand, RetailMeNot, an industry giant, offers over 500,000 deals at any given time, plus gift cards and in-store and online discounts, so you can find the savings you need. Plus, Coupon.com’s easy-to-print format is a little something that not all other sites have taken into account.
Range of Stores
We all have our favorite stores where we love to shop, and a platform that offers discounts at those would be a big win. Some coupon apps focus primarily on grocery savings, while others include everything from appliances to furniture and clothing. If you don’t plan on shopping at specialty stores, the best sites are those that offer a wide variety of stores. Of course, the big names in the industry, like RetailMeNot, have a huge selection and partner with over 130,000 retailers to offer a complete coupon experience. If you want to try some of the smaller (but no less useful) sites, check out coupon aggregators like Money Saving Mom or SlickDeals. These apps collect (and evaluate) coupons from other coupon sites and also have private deals with retailers like Target, Macy’s, Amazon, and T-Mobile, so customers get the most bang for their buck on every purchase.
How Good are the Deals?
This aspect is, of course, a bit skewed by the industry and the shopper. Some sites offer great deals, but if they’re not right for you, they won’t be very appealing. In general, look for an app with a strong, engaged community (more on that below) and significant savings. LivingSocial, which lets you save up to 90%, is a good example of this type of combination.
Tools & Additional Features
If you don’t want to do a lot of work yourself, the various tools and features offered by a coupon app will help distinguish between what you should download and what you should just ignore. Good apps are feature-rich and packed with helpful resources and tools that make them easy to use. From list builders to shopping card syncing, here are some great tools to consider.
RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot lets shoppers customize and save lists of their favorite products so they always know when they’re on sale. Plus, its algorithm is geo-centric, so you get the most relevant local deals. Speaking of lists, The Krazy Coupon Lady does a great job of that too. In addition to allowing you to create your own personalized shopping lists, The Krazy Coupon Lady syncs them across all your devices so you can share them with your partner or manage them from multiple devices. Krazy Coupon Lady is also a great resource for saving money. They offer tutorials, money-saving tips, and videos like the fun 10-day guide to becoming a coupon master. The best part is the YouTube channel that includes all of these videos. Hip2Save is another app that offers excellent educational resources for saving money, with entire sections dedicated to recipes, coupon tips, and other money-saving tips.
Other sites, like SlickDeals, offer perks like a dedicated Black Friday app (and a mobile app so you can take your savings with you wherever you go) that focuses exclusively on the deals on that special shopping day.
We found Coupon.com’s grocery card linking feature particularly impressive. This feature allows you to link any coupon to your grocery cards so they’re automatically deducted from your total when you shop at that store. Coupon.com also has a handy smart savings calculator so you can see how much you’re saving with your coupons and exclusive credit card offers.
Social Aspect
Of course, couponing has become much more than just clipping pages from the newspaper. Today, the industry revolves around social media and is also heavily influenced by these circles. The simpler and more participatory the community, the better the experience. Some apps, like SlickDeals and Woot, have large, active communities. The great thing is that members review coupons so you know you’re getting the latest deals. If an offer is substandard, expired, or otherwise invalid, you’ll find out through a helpful community of advisors. SlickDeals even has a rating system for its coupons, and only the best ones appear on the homepage. Woot community members are extremely active and offer a lot of details about the products they’ve purchased and whether the deals are worth it.
Alerts & Notifications
This is one of the modern perks that really sets traditional couponing apart from the modern version. You no longer have to scroll through pages of ads to find good deals. Today, you can set up alerts and get notified when products you like are on sale. Technology is truly amazing. An app with good alert and notification settings is very useful. An app like SlickDeals lets you customize alert categories so that the products you’re looking for are shown when they’re on sale. LivingSocial sends members a general email with the best daily deals, while DealNews lets you set notifications for specific products.
User Friendliness
Ultimately, you’re looking for a seamless and easy experience. After all, one of the main reasons to use a coupon app is to save time and headaches associated with a more traditional option. We found SlickDeal’s website to be particularly easy to navigate, with a smart search bar and sections like popular posts and trending deals that are laid out in a clear and organized manner. Coupon.com also offers a zip code search to quickly find local deals. DealNews was also very easy to navigate, thanks to its simple drop-down menus and good categorization. Hip2Save always has deals at the forefront of the homepage, and you can quickly browse deals by store, product type, favorites, and organized lists. Finally, Money Saving Mom lets you sort coupons by store, product, or expiration date.
Shopping is getting better and better in the 21st century. So, take advantage of smart coupon apps and save more now.
