Time and Money-Saving Electronic Coupons and Coupon Apps

Dedicated stores and retailer apps
Retail apps are not only great for customer retention, but their loyalty programs and coupons keep regular customers feeling loved. For example, Target’s wildly popular Cartwheel app is known for its best all-around savings tool. You choose up to 10 offers then at checkout, have the cashier scan the barcode on your Smartphone to receive the discounts. It’s one barcode, no matter how many offers, so you’re not going to be holding up the checkout lane.

Amazon subscriptions and coupons
Amazon’s “Subscribe & Save Coupons” page lets you see all available coupons and you can easily redeem one just by clicking on it, selecting “Subscribe Now” and setting a delivery quantity and frequency. The trick to earning the 15% discount on your entire order for Amazon’s subscription items is to make sure you’re receiving at least five subscription items on your monthly delivery day.

Since you can set subscription intervals from one to six months, be sure you have five items in each monthly delivery in order to earn the discount. Many Amazon products such as snacks, personal care items and household basics, come with coupon orders. Just “clip” the coupon to receive the discount at checkout. Amazon’s prices are super competitive and it’s a convenient way to hitch your bandwagon to the super retailer.

Rebate apps
Rebate apps give you cash back based on what you actually buy at the store. Because rebate apps do their work once you’ve come home from the store, they might be one of the most discreet coupon and savings tools out there. Rebate apps like Ibotta , Checkout 51  and Snap by Groupon kick in before or after you shop. There’s absolutely no action required at the checkout–in fact, you can leave your smartphone at home. To use a rebate app, browse and add any offers you’re interested in before you go shopping. When you’re back home, take a picture of your receipt and upload it to the app to receive cash back for the items you purchased.

A word of advice if you’re using any type of electronic coupon or deal: Store employees aren’t always comfortable with e-coupon technology. Should you run into technical difficulties during checkout, be patient or give it another try the next time you shop rather than attempting to troubleshoot at the register. To find more electronic coupons and apps, try Coupons.com or TheKrazyCouponLady.com to get started. You can also find online coupons and discounts on sites such as CouponSherpa and RetailMeNot.