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Some bargain-hunting shoppers may be more accustomed to the printed coupons that are stuffed into the Sunday newspaper or mailbox. The new trend is to find coupons online, paste the coupon code, and apply it to a purchase. These are known as “online coupons, promo codes, coupon codes, and promotional codes.” The principle is the same as when the shopper clips her coupons out of the Sunday paper’s inserts, but the process is a little bit different. For these bargain shoppers, the learning curve to online shopping and saving doesn’t have to be steep.
Looking for Online Coupons
Shoppers new to online shopping and couponing need to learn to look online for the coupons they want for the items they are shopping for. Several online retail stores feature coupons or promo codes on their websites. Websites devoted to coupon deals find and feature the most current promotional deals and coupon codes. These websites hire several full time employees who scout online retail stores to look for the most current promotional code offers.
Some sites function only as group-buying websites. This allows several people to take advantage of a special offer within a pre-set time period. If enough people do participate, they receive the special offer. These deals last only a few days.
The Types of Online Coupons
Coupons online take several different forms. Some come as percent-off offers, which help reduce the cost at checkout. For some of these offers, shoppers are required to spend a minimum amount of money before checking out to receive the benefit of the percentage discount.
Other online coupons are dollar-off coupons, which are only available for online purchasing. These require coupon codes at checkout. Some, but not all of these dollar-off deals are stackable, meaning shoppers can use coupons from more than one source, according to Investopedia.
A third type of online coupon deal is the free shipping offer. These require a promotional code to be entered into the purchase window at checkout. While the shipping fee to the customer’s home is free, if she has to return the item, she will have to pay for shipping.
Finding a Coupon that Saves Money
Shoppers are used to looking at printed coupons and figuring out how much money they can save for grocery store purchases. As they begin making the change to using coupon codes online, they now need to learn how to combine several discounts and offers, figuring out whether a particular deal will be beneficial for them and their budgets.
Some of these offers may be connected to ordering a bouquet of flowers, a gift purchase from a national department store or a travel opportunity. Other offers may come from jewelry stores, electronics stores, cell phone providers, or computer stores. Depending on what the shopper needs to buy, he can compare promo codes and, when he finds an offer he likes, he can apply those codes when he makes his purchase.
Using Coupons Online During Shopping
The shopper learning to use coupon codes for the first time should move slowly through the process, reading everything so he knows whether he’s getting a good deal or not. After scanning websites and finding coupon deals, he should make comparisons between several different offers from different retailers.
Once he has read each offer, he should decide which coupon code he will be using. These are usually a short series of letters in all-caps, along with some numbers. He can either enter the code manually or he can copy and paste it in the little box in the checkout screen, then apply the code so he can see his savings. Once he is sure he is receiving the appropriate discount, he completes his shopping transaction.
As budget-conscious shoppers make the transition from paper coupons to online coupons, they need to learn how to find the best offers and determine the best deals.
