Save Smart With Digital Coupons

Perhaps because of this shift to digital, the number of paper coupons being issued has declined. According to the data analytics company Inmar Intelligence, 39 billion coupons were distributed by August 2024, a third less than during a similar period in 2023 and only half as many as were issued in 2022. Meanwhile, the number of digital coupons has been rising year over year, with digital redemptions overtaking print ones in 2020.

But is this a good thing for consumers?

Couponing in all its forms remains a popular pursuit—not to mention a critical tool as consumers seek ways to counter inflation. Just over a third of grocery shoppers (36 percent) say they use coupons or member discounts frequently, and another 38 percent say they do so occasionally, according to a February 2025 nationally representative CR survey (PDF) of 2,015 U.S. adults.

The dwindling number of paper coupons has raised concerns that digital discounts may disadvantage shoppers who lack access to connected devices, including people with low incomes and older adults on a fixed income, who may need discounts the most. Consumer advocates, including those at CR, have voiced concerns that this digital divide hurts the most vulnerable shoppers. Now, San Diego has become the first city in the U.S. to require grocery stores to make advertised digital deals available in a nondigital format. Independent of San Diego’s new rule, Kroger has introduced a paper version of its digital deals that shoppers can pick up in stores on Wednesdays.

S&H Green Stamps, introduced in 1896, encouraged shoppers to patronize retailers in the S&H network, who rewarded them with little green stamps they could then affix to collectors’ books and redeem for premiums from an S&H Redemption Center or catalog.

While the Green Stamp era has passed, the idea of rewarding consumer loyalty remains strong, with many grocery chains offering some form of loyalty program. Customers at Publix stores, for example, can join Club Publix, launched in 2020, and receive $5 off an in-store purchase of $20 or more. Members also get a peek at the weekly circular a day early and have access to digital coupons via the Publix mobile app.

Stop & Shop offers a two-tier loyalty program in its stores. The first is Stop & Shop Rewards, which offers weekly discounts online and at the register for items featured in the store’s circular. The other offers members the opportunity to earn rewards and save on purchases with digital coupons via the Stop & Shop Go Rewards mobile app or website. Stop & Shop’s director of loyalty, Per Jensen, says that the store can give bigger discounts with digital coupons because there are higher logistics costs when customers redeem paper versions.

And these programs are popular with shoppers. CR’s February 2025 survey found that most Americans who shop for groceries belong to a grocery store loyalty program. Eighty percent of them belong to at least one, and 1 in 10 belong to four or more. When those who belong to at least one loyalty program were asked how they felt about them, about 3 in 10 were dissatisfied with at least one. The most common reason (58 percent) was that the discounts weren’t as good as they expected.

But here’s a significant departure from the S&S Green Stamp days. In order to use digital coupons, most retailers require that you have an account with the store or join its loyalty program. And when you sign up for a loyalty card, you share your contact information as well as data about your shopping behavior, which accumulates over time. That can be a problem, especially if you’re already deluged by marketers, including scammy ones. (For advice on how to avoid them, see CR’s Security Planner.) Giving up that information can have other negative consequences as well.

Companies can gather purchase histories, search history, social media “likes,” and more to create a detailed profile of each customer. They can then potentially use that information to charge different prices to different consumers, a practice known as surveillance pricing, which CR says should be prohibited.

Recently, an investigation by CR and the Groundwork Collaborative found that Instacart, which delivers groceries for retailers including Albertsons, Costco, Kroger, Safeway, Target, and others, had run AI-enabled experiments to price identical products differently from one online shopper to the next—sometimes by as much as 23 percent. (Skippy Creamy Peanut Butter, for example, ranged in price from $2.99 to $3.69.) While we didn’t find evidence that people were offered unique prices, shoppers appeared to be sorted into groups, each of which was offered products at the same higher or lower price. There’s concern that this “algorithmic pricing” could evolve into surveillance pricing.

On Dec. 22, 2025, following legislative and regulatory actions, Instacart announced it would immediately end price experiments that grocers used on its platform that allowed them to charge different shoppers different prices for the same groceries at the same time.

If you’d rather avoid sharing your personal data, there may be workarounds. Stop & Shop, for example, has installed Savings Station kiosks where you can scan its physical rewards card or enter your phone number to load digital discounts onto your account, no smartphone needed. And a representative for Albertsons, one of the nation’s largest food and drug retailers, says that people who don’t have access to smartphones and mobile coupons or who want to avoid oversharing can request those discounts at the register.

Digital or otherwise, couponing is a numbers game where time spent translates into savings earned. CR consulted with expert deal detectives to help you make the most of your time in the service of saving. These tips will help focus your efforts. Keep in mind, however, that some suggestions may require you to provide personal information or allow merchants to track your shopping habits.

Join rewards and loyalty programs at your favorite stores. Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons share a loyalty program that offers $5 welcome savings off a $25 in-store purchase at sign-up. Members earn a point for every dollar spent on groceries. Every 100 points earns a reward. And 10 rewards equals $15 off your entire grocery purchase. Tip: You can supercharge those savings while keeping your grocery budget in check by purchasing a store gift card that earns 2 points per dollar spent on groceries. And don’t forget to download and use your grocer’s app. CR’s February 2025 survey found that nearly half (49 percent) of those who use coupons or other discounts find them through these apps.

Receipts can be currency. With rebate apps like Fetch Rewards and Ibotta, you can take in-app pictures of your cash register receipts to earn points that you can convert to gift cards or cash. But note: While some shoppers swear by these apps, others complain that they’re time-consuming, fail to make good on points, and steer you toward expensive name brands rather than cheaper store brands. Others point out that many credit cards offer cash back opportunities automatically with fewer limitations.

Join a manufacturer’s email list. Procter & Gamble has 66 brands across multiple product categories and will send you weekly coupons and free offers via its P&G brandSaver rewards program that you can print at home. Kimberly-Clark, the producer of brands like Kleenex and Huggies, has email sign-up prompts on the websites of individual brands, like Scott, that deliver deal offers to your inbox. Beech-Nut will email coupon offers and deals to those who sign up for its e-newsletter. PepsiCo’s Tasty Rewards has coupons on its website that members can either print at home or load to their digital wallets and use at retailers for Frito-Lay and Pepsi products.

Buy a Sunday newspaper to get the coupon inserts. Yes, it can still pay to go old-school. So search the inserts for coupons for products you regularly use that you wouldn’t substitute for cheaper or generic options. If you find a coupon for one of your must-have items, consider purchasing a second paper to double down on “buy one, get one” deals. 

Use coupon “matchups.” Some retailers allow you to do coupon matchups, where you can save more by combining store-offered discounts with matching manufacturer coupons. For example, if a CVS circular features Bounty paper towels at two for $5, a manufacturer’s coupon for the same product would be a matchup. To find them, do an online search of a store where you shop and add the word “matchup.” Deal bloggers such as For The Mommas and The Krazy Coupon Lady create weekly store deal/coupon breakdowns. Most will help you find the coupons that match up to the products.

Give yourself coupon reminders. Try whatever method helps you remember to bring coupons when you shop. Use your phone’s voice memo, set calendar alerts for dates when the items you want go on sale, or just put sticky notes on your refrigerator.

Set a grocery budget and stick with it. Many people can’t resist a good deal and end up loading their carts with extraneous items they don’t really need. Make sure the lure of a bargain doesn’t prompt you to spend more than you budget for your weekly or monthly grocery shopping. Shop from a list so you buy only what’s on it.

Watch coupon update videos on YouTube. Searching terms like “deals this week” and “coupon with me” will yield videos created by super-couponers like Star Smith, who offers weekly 10- to 25-minute store-specific deal updates, with tips on how to maximize them with manufacturer coupons. National retailers like CVS, Target, and Walgreens are the subject of the largest number of videos, but you’ll also find updates for local and regional retailers.

Find a Facebook couponing group. Typing “couponing group” into the social media platform’s search bubble will have you scrolling through groups with more than 1.6 million followers. You can narrow your search by using the city filter under the groups icon. Shoppers in your area may have tips on local retailers and news about nearby unadvertised spot sales. But the Coupon Information Corporation, an industry group, says visitors to these groups should keep an eye out for counterfeit coupons as well as coupon “glittering” or “shimmering,” which is improperly using a coupon to purchase items not intended by the company or store that issued the coupon.

Subscribe to a coupon provider. Depending on where you live, that can be cheaper than buying a Sunday newspaper. Coupon clipping services, also called coupon fairies, like Klip2Save and Jacks Cards and Coupons, post images of paper coupons you can buy for a fraction of the savings they promise. You typically pay a few cents per coupon, or up to $1.50 for a number of coupons for the same item (good for bulk buying). Recent coupons at Jacks, for example, included $1 off any Tim Horton product (cost: $1.50 for 15 coupons) and another for $1 off each of four Tuttorosso or RedPak Tomato cans, one 4C Grated Cheese, and two 4C Bread Crumbs (cost for seven items: $1.50 for 15 coupons). Shipping via USPS First Class Mail starts at 95 cents per order.

Coupon values in newspaper inserts can vary by region, even when offered by the same manufacturer. That 50-cent offer in Pennsylvania may be worth 75 cents in Texas. Coupon fairies in different regions have access to inserts you might not. The Sunday Coupon Inserts website offers a subscription service that ships whole inserts from companies like SmartSource, as well as from retailers like Target and Walgreens. Be aware that the practice is controversial. The Coupon Information Corporation warns that the coupons could be counterfeit, and says that the practice of selling coupons can violate a manufacturer’s policies and void the coupons.

Contact the manufacturers of your favorite brands to ask for coupons. Many will oblige with high-value coupons, perhaps for staples you like or for new products to try. I went to the Chobani yogurt website, navigated to Consumer Care, and clicked the Contact Us button, which produced a contact form with a message field. I wrote that Chobani was one of my favorite brands but that lately I’ve been buying whatever is on sale. I asked whether it could share any coupons. About a week later, four coupons arrived, and two of them were for free yogurt!