Paper coupons make a clip-and-save comeback

Are paper coupons making a comeback? In response to the economic downturn, consumers from an array of socio-economic groups ranging from the penny-pinching upper crust to the young, tech-savvy masses are whipping out their scissors and doing it the old-fashioned way.

“Coupons were not in vogue during our period of gluttonous consumption,” says San Francisco-based Kit Yarrow, author of “Gen BuY: How Tweens, Teens and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail.” “But now that it’s once again cool to be cheap, they’re back.”

The clip-and-save renaissance is a throwback to 1992 when coupon redemption reached an all-time of 7.9 billion. By 2006, the number had dropped to 2.6 billion and continued to stagnate until 2008. According to the report in the New York Times, coupon clipping climbed 23 percent last year and is expected to hit the three billion mark by the end of 2009.

While the old-school paper coupons continue to account for the bulk of the deals redeemed, the onslaught of digital coupons pulled from the Web and cellphones coupled with retailers offering more appealing deals have reignited interest from consumers who have long avoided the penny-pinching practice.

Click here for the lowdown.