In the world of couponing, the Sunday paper has traditionally ruled as the primary method for households getting the kinds of savings that help knock down their overall grocery bill a couple notches.
However, in the past couple of years, technological advancements have made it possible for consumers to find an array of extremely attractive, money-saving printable and coupons online.
Making strides in connecting shoppers to a variety of savings, Coupons.com is one of the leading online resources of today giving weekly newspaper supplements a run for their money.
What is Coupons.com?
Established in 1998, Coupons.com has built up a reputation for offering online coupons with a concentration on providing savings on popular grocery items, such as cereal, cleaning products, beverages, over-the-counter medicine, diapers, baby food and many other things from brands, such as Kellogg’s, Johnson & Johnson, General Mills, Clorox, Kraft Foods, and Pampers.
Boasting millions of satisfied consumers that sing their praises, and an average of more than 17 million unique visitors to their site per month, Coupons.com has enhanced their standing with shoppers over the years in regards to the quality of savings offered, as well as the availability of a mobile app that does much more than just find the latest coupons.
Bridging the gap between consumers and some of the leading mass merchandise retailers and grocery stores in the country, Coupons.com helps bring savings from over 2,000 brands to the forefront of computer screens across the United States. Because of this site, shoppers are able to better tailor where they shop for groceries, and what they ultimately decide to buy because of the types of savings they are able to acquire using Coupons.com.
In addition to printable grocery coupons (which requires the download of Coupons.com-affiliated software), the website also offers save-to-card coupon options and e-commerce digital coupons for retailers, such as Old Navy, Carter’s, Babies R’ Us, Toys R’ Us, Target, Amazon.com, and ShoeBuy.com.
What does Coupons.com get out of all this? While shoppers are spending time on the website and browsing the list of available coupons to print, Coupons.com benefits from the advertising they’ve sold to retailers that become a part of their online and mobile entities. Because of this, the site has built up a network that includes more than 58,000 locations in North America, which helps satisfy the rush of consumers who continue to visit the site looking for the best coupons.
How Can I Start on Coupons.com?
It is not necessary to join or sign up with Coupons.com to enjoy the grocery store savings and online coupons, but if you wish to receive their SuperSaver newsletter featuring top coupons and coupon codes; or would like to have the ability to link loyalty cards and take advantage of card-linked offers for instant savings – then you must sign up with Coupons.com.
To obtain a free Coupons.com account, you can use your Facebook account, or sign up with your email address, a password of your choice.
What to Expect with Coupons.com
As a user of Coupons.com, you should expect to easily find the total amount of available printable coupon savings for grocery stores at the time of your visit. An offer of the week is also highlighted underneath.
While on the site, you can click on the coupons you wish to print; click to reveal or use online coupon codes; and click on links that will redirect you to the websites of retailers offering sales that have caught your eye. With a Coupons.com account, extra savings are available to those who link their loyalty cards (from a limited list of qualifying grocery stores), and go through the steps to take advantage of card-linked offers.
How Do I Use Coupons.com?
The majority of individuals who come to Coupons.com are in search of free printable coupons to use at their local grocery stores and supermarkets. You can browse all of the savings featured on the homepage of Coupons.com, or Search by Category when there’s a specific item that you’re hoping to save money on, such as household products, baby & toddler items, beverages, pet care, and even professional services, such as Verizon limited time offers, Vistaprint business cards, and saving 20% at the LASIK Vision Institute.
While Coupons.com is mostly known for being a grocery store-centric coupon site, there are still plenty of ways to save money when shopping at online retail stores, such as Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Samsung, the Disney Store, and HP.
Clicking on ‘Coupon Codes’, which is found on the navigation bar of Coupons.com will lead shoppers to a handful of various retail-related online discounts that in the past, have included the likes of saving an extra 20% off Nike clearance items, taking $30 off a purchase of $150 or more at Aeropostle, and saving 15% off an entire order at Sports Authority.
To find a collection of deals associated with some of the most celebrated year-round observances, use Coupons.com’s list of Shopping Events to save money during the holidays, which include online retailer savings for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Labor Day, Graduation Gifts, Valentine’s Day, After Christmass, and even the Super Bowl.
Step-by-Step Instructions on How to “Clip” Coupons
1. Browse the collection of store coupons that appear on the homepage of Coupons.com.
2. Use your mouse to click on the savings you’d like to take advantage of – this is how you’ll be ‘clipping’ your printable coupons.
3. A ‘Clip Coupon’ image will replace the item you’ve selected, and every time you ‘clip’ a coupon, the number on the orange ‘Print Coupons’ icon will increase, as shown below. The amount of ‘Available Savings’ associated with each chosen coupon will also rise. As you can see, the four selected coupons in the example below add up to $2.05 in savings.
‘Print Coupons‘ button. A message appears to let you know that your coupons are being sent to the printer.
5. A follow-up message will alert you that your selected coupons have successfully printed.
Does Coupons.com Offer Cash Back Opportunities?
Coupons.com does not offer any cash back opportunities, and is a resource that primarily focuses on providing consumers with printable grocery coupons and online retail coupon codes.
Consumer Coupons.com Review Video
To get an idea of a shopper’s experience using the Coupons.com mobile app for the iPhone and iPad as a convenient way to print grocery store coupons, watch the video review below:
Special Features of Coupons.com
In addition to offering online and printable coupons, Coupons.com also provides users with a few conveniences when they decide to join as a member:
Grocery IQ App: Offering a convenient way to save time and money when shopping, Coupons.com has its very own Grocery iQ app for iOS and Android devices that allows users to create shopping lists, locate stores, find coupons and scan barcodes. It is free to download.
Loyalty Card Coupons: Coupons.com allows users to add their loyalty cards to their account from a limited number of accepted stores that includes Fred Meyer, Meijer, Kroger, Smith’s, Shop Rite, and Ralph’s. On occasion, various loyalty card coupons become available where shoppers can click on them and save to their qualifying cards.
Card Linked Offers: Users of Coupons.com can link their credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, or American Express) to their account in order to reap the benefits of savings associated with these particular methods of payment. It is important to remember that offers added to a specific card are only eligible with credit transactions, so when it comes time to choose ‘credit’ or ‘debit’ – don’t forget to select ‘Credit.’ Some of the participating retailers associated with this offer include Lord & Taylor, Vitamin World, Perfumania, and Travelocity.
Any Complaints Regarding Coupons.com? Is Coupons.com a Scam?
It’s hard to believe that a site offering free coupons would run into any criticisms, but the following gripes have been reported by users of Coupons.com:
Claims of the Site Using Monitoring Software: Since Coupons.com requires the download of specific software before you are able to print coupons, some users have griped about the legitimacy of it. Some feel that the software isn’t a valid, truthful program at all, but instead, something that installs an unnecessary add-on to a computer’s browser. Some fear that the software contains undisclosed monitoring capabilities hidden inside of the program.
Others blame the software itself for infecting their computer with a virus, as well as for being nearly impossible to fully uninstall despite numerous efforts.
Issues Using Coupon.com Software: In addition to users fearing that the software Coupons.com uses to send coupons to a printer is not 100% legitimate, there have also been complaints from consumers who have encountered difficulties getting the software to work at all.
For those who do not have issues getting the coupon software to work, another reason users find fault with it is that right along with printing coupons, a large advertisement is also added, which wastes a great deal of ink or toner – especially if you print coupons on many separate occasions.
Lack of Loyalty Cards Options: Some users complain that they’d like to add their local grocery store loyalty cards to their Coupons.com account, but the list of acceptable establishments does not accommodate an acceptable range of regional stores.
No Search Bar: Users have mentioned that the lack of a search bar on the Coupons.com website makes it rather time-consuming to search for and locate specific grocery coupons on the site. This is an especially annoying issue for those who are redirected to Coupons.com after clicking a link posted on a different money-saving website or blog. The redirects bring a consumer to the Coupons.com homepage, and not directly to the specific coupon of interest.
In a Nutshell…
The savings reaped from using grocery printables and online codes offered through Coupons.com deems the website a valuable shopping resource for many people looking to save money. The wide-ranging retailer relationships that the website has cultivated over the years provide consumers with access to coupons from some of the most sought-after brands.
However, issues with the download and use of the Coupons.com software that is required for the proper use of their site will play an important role in people determining whether or not the potential hassle of printing glitches and difficult uninstalls is worth its weight in couponing gold.
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