As people struggle to make ends meet, using coupons is more popular than ever. As the economy continues to sag and retail prices climb, shoppers are using all resources available to them, including the Internet, to shop for bargains. Most people are familiar with the paper coupons supplied by the manufactures. They arrive by mail or bundled with the daily newspaper. Oddly enough, a recent poll revealed that only 38% of the households in America use online coupons when purchasing items through a website.
Dori Schwaiger has seen this happen at TopHealthSpot.com. The site specializes in beauty and health products and has discount codes listed for a variety of items listed for sale. Discounts are applied when the order form is completed with a valid code. This is similar to using a paper coupon when you pay for your purchase in a physical store. Shoppers complain that they do not know how to locate a valid coupon code and if they do find one, they are not sure how to redeem it. This means they can pay full price for a product without being aware there is a coupon code available that can save them money.
To help online shoppers with this problem, Dori has created a list of tips that will save consumers money. She explains how simple it is to locate and redeem a coupon code. Read on for a list of her best tips.
Make Purchases Through a Coupon Website: The most popular coupon websites are affiliates. The codes are listed on sites other than the main corporate website. This is done in an effort to drive traffic to the retailer site. These affiliate sites have the biggest inventories of discount codes compiled in one place. The research on what company is offering which discount has already been done. The most current discounts and deals, including those for free shipping, have already been compiled for you. The discounts can be searched by category and consumers can compare prices and discounts for thousands of different products. This can save a lot of time surfing the Internet in search of the best deal for a specific product.
Learn to Identify Coupon Codes: Examine the offer page. There is often a discount code posted somewhere next to the item or its description. Sometimes it will be referred to as a promotional code. The checkout page will have a specific box for the code. Simply enter the code where indicated when you put in the credit card number and expiration date. Unique codes are assigned to specific offers and the discounts will vary depending on the brand and product. Before the order is submitted, the site will recalculate the total after applying the appropriate discount. One code may be good for a certain percentage off the purchase price while another may offer free shipping and handling. The website applies the discount appropriately. It is as easy as that to save money on your purchase.
Finding the Best Codes: Using a search engine, such as Google, Yahoo! or Bing or any other one that you prefer, do a search for the exact coupon you are looking for. As an example, if you’re looking to buy a health supplement from GNC or Vitamin Shoppe, you should search for “GNC Coupon Code”. or “Vitamin Shoppe Coupons”. Hundreds of results will be listed and it’s up to you to pick the most up to date and relevant coupon. Most major coupon sites, such as TopHealthSpot.com employ a large staff that does a great job of updating their coupons daily or even hourly according to the coupon offer. If your looking to buy a specific item and you want to determine which retailer is offering the best savings online, do a search for a specific kind of coupon. For instance, if you are looking for health & wellness items do a search for “Health Coupons” and the website that carries the largest selection of coupons for health products will be listed at the top of your search page. This search will result in the most comprehensive coupon codes. Specialty coupon code sites are geared to a specific demographic, like students looking for electronics or pet owners that are looking for online pet supplies. It is best to shop these speciality websites that mainly focus on retailers for their market.
How To Use Online Coupons: After selecting your coupon you want to use, click the buy button that will provided a link that takes you directly to the merchant’s site, or specific page with shows the item of your choice. Just shop as you normally would. Before checking out, remember to enter the coupon code in the provided source code box. Be sure to check that your discount is shown in your shopping cart before completing the order and keep in mind that most coupons have an expiration date to be valid.
Save More with Online Coupons: Retailers are aware that consumers are looking for the best deal every time they shop. A smart shopper can realize substantial monthly savings by locating the biggest discounts. Consider these tips when doing your research and take the time to find the online sites that offer discount codes for your favorite retailers. Bookmarking these sites in your browser will make it easy to scan through the various sites every time you are shopping on the Internet. If the website provides a newsletter, subscribe to it. This will get you additional savings delivered directly to your inbox. Signing up for RSS feeds is another convenient way to keep up with frequent updates. Many traditional stores will offer discounts online that are not available when shopping in person. Some retailers will offer free shipping for minimum orders. You can save even more money by combining purchases or stocking up on nonperishable items to meet the minimum purchase requirement.
More and more people are turning to online coupons as a way to save money. There is no need to drive around searching for the best prices when you can have this information available in your home at any time of the day or night.
Have a sneak peek at our tips and advice on how to use Online Coupons. You will also get complete details on where to find the best Health and Beauty Coupons online.