Survey: Online coupons go mainstream

Almost all consumers have tried using online coupons.

According to a new survey of U.S. and U.K. adult consumers from online coupon platform Shopper.com, 95% of U.S. respondents have used an online coupon at least once. One in three U.S. respondents search for a discount code almost every time they make an online purchase.

Other interesting findings include:
•    13 million U.S. consumers are currently missing out on savings via discount codes because they can’t find valid offers or don’t realize they exist.

•    U.S. consumers spend 13 million hours per week searching for online discounts, while U.K. consumers only hunt for savings for 2 million hours per week. However, half the time consumers in both countries spend looking for online savings is wasted.

•    U.S. consumers are also much more likely to use a browser extension: 30% use a browser extension to help them efficiently find and apply coupons when shopping online, twice the 15% of U.K. consumers who do so.

•    If all U.S. consumers interested in trying a coupon tool made a 10% saving on half of their online purchases, they would make collective annual savings of $6.64 billion. Individually, they would annually save an average of $192 each.

•    Across all respondents, 42% of women and 32% of men have helped a friend or family member find a suitable online discount code.

•    Most respondents (86%) feel frustrated at themselves when they miss out on making a modest saving on an online purchase, but one in three feel annoyed at the retailer for not making them aware of potential savings.

•    More than one in five respondents (22%) said they would ask a store for a refund if they missed out on a discount they were qualified for.

•    When U.S. shoppers find coupons themselves, without the retailer offering them upfront, they feel 3.1 times savvier.