CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Manufacturer-funded coupons are decreasing and more shoppers are using digital technology, coupon industry professionals say, and a Universal Digital Coupon should bridge a gap within the coupon industry.

What You Need To Know

  • A Universal Digital Coupon will enable shoppers to redeem rewards at any participating retailer of their choice
  • The coupon industry is filling a gap that has been created from shoppers quickly moving to digital formats
  • The Universal Digital Coupon is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2023 

Jeff Hudson is with The Coupon Bureau, an industry-run nonprofit connecting stakeholders to the Universal Digital Coupon. Hudson says in 2015, 319 billion of the manufacturer-funded coupons were distributed. In 2022, that number was down to 158 billion.

Currently, if a shopper is using a digital coupon it is created by an individual retailer, and customers can only redeem the coupon at that store. 

Industry professionals say the Universal Digital Coupon will enable shoppers to use digital coupons at any participating store of their choice. This is an option that has been limited to printed manufacturer-funded coupons. 

Hudson says the Universal Digital Coupon is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2023 with its first national retailer. 

Shoppers and avid couponers, like Lauren Farmer, would benefit from this coupon upgrade. 

Farmer says she has been couponing since she was a junior in high school, and saves tens of thousands of dollars each year because of it. 

"On average, I save at least a thousand dollars a month between food and all this stuff," Farmer said. 

She coupons for cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, toiletries, sanitary products, food and even streaming services.

Farmer says inflation has not forced her to increase her grocery bill. 

"I meal prep based off what I can coupon for that week," Farmer said. 

Over the nine years of her couponing, she says she has noticed the value of coupons decreasing. She also says she largely uses digital coupons now, rather than paper.

"Most of the time, I go to Instagram and search the hashtags," Farmer said.

She searches hashtags like #harristeeterdeals, #publixcouponing and #targetcouponing to scope out the latest deals. She isn't the only one.

According to Inmar Intellegence, 2021 became the first year digital coupons outpaced paper coupons in redemption methods. Inflation in 2022 continued to increase shopper demand for digital coupons. 

Hudson says the decrease in value of paper coupons could be in response to people committing fraud and counterfeiting the coupons. He says the digital format makes coupons even more difficult to duplicate, so hopefully that will mean bigger rewards are in store.