Paper coupons are preferred in New Jersey

In New Jersey, consumers are choosing paper coupons over online discount codes.

Why? According to an article by NJ.com, analysts say it's due to the overwhelming number of shopping malls in New Jersey. In fact, the Garden State boasts the most malls per square mile in the entire country. It makes sense that consumers favor printable paper coupons to hand over to the cashier at the mall, instead of shopping online.

How does the rest of the country pan out? New Yorkers prefer online discount codes, while Missourians are on the lookout for grocery coupons, according to RetailMeNot.com, a Web company that compiles coupons and discounts from the Internet.

RetailMeNot.com's founder, Guy King, talks about the growing popularity of coupons, in the online-discount or paper-coupon debate.

"Our take on it is that the recession almost made it OK to use coupons. It was suddenly a logical thing to do rather than be embarrassed about it." King observes that the recession made coupons a normality. It's no longer uncool to use coupons. If you do use coupons, you'll save money, and saving money is cool. Especially in a recession.

Since the recession, King's online traffic has doubled to 13 million users. As for online discounts, King believes the users will grow even after the recession. Why? "Everyone can get a discount without worrying about what the people in the queu will think." No one has to know, except for the paper-coupon clippers in New Jersey.