Coupons – Enhancing the Joys of Online Retail Therapy

Last week I went a little crazy trying to find a book for Vidur, for his birthday and after some tiring legwork, decided to save me some time, commute and effort by browsing online. And yes, I found the book. Full credit this time to a fabulous coupon site – CupoNation
I am so excited about the concept. Do you shop online? I do. And I love it. I am surprised that even today, there are lots of people who are wary of transacting online.  Years ago, I was always finding ways to be frugal as we had housing loan payments, a growing baby and heavy healthcare expenses to tackle on one income.  I used to cut out special offers and coupons from the newspaper if they related with something our family needed.
My first online shopping experience

As I basked in the happiness of finding the precise book Vidur wanted, it brought back happy memories of  the first ever time I bought something online. One day, at work, I happened to click a link in an email that took me to this site that sold a huge range of products, including grocery, toys. Curious, I checked the rates for groceries and was delighted to find they cost less than our local brick and mortar store.  So - I cautiously placed an order and was pleasantly surprised to see an alert, urging me to increase my order value marginally to enjoy slab discounts.  Thus began a happy relationship that introduced me to the convenience of shopping from the comfort of my computer without having to commute or stand in queues.  Not to mention going crazy getting them to deliver to home or worse still – carrying it on my own! Aaargh!
Enter coupon sites
After initially being slightly skeptical and even suspicious about the coupon codes these shopping sites sent me, I learned to look for them to increase my savings! I explored coupon sites and signed up at a couple of them to see how they worked. The best part? They emailed me coupon codes on a regular basis. Each time I shopped, I received a thank you note with a coupon code to use on my next order from the merchant’s site.
Of the myriad coupon sites, CupoNation is one I really like. They list the sites I enjoy shopping on. I’ve signed up to receive offers. They add new coupons on a regular basis, and also offer exclusive coupons, which means that these are available only on the Cuponation website.
For example, I can find coupons for Myntra,  an amazing online store that is great for apparel. I’ve had a fantastic shopping experience with Myntra. Other regulars listed here are Inkfruit,  Flipkart, Jabong, Pepperfry, Snapdeal, Yebhi  and many more.  
What is the current trend in coupon sites in India?
Now, as a freelance writer I do a lot of research for my clients and curious, I wanted to check out the coupon scene in India.  According to LiveMint.com in November last year, 27.2 million users above the age of 15 years -- or 59% of the 46.4 million Internet audience in the country -- engaged in retail activity compared with 23.02 million -- or 56% of the 41.2 million users in 2010.
ComScore, the trusted site for statistics related to all things digital, reported in December 2011 that with Online Shopping Taking Off in India: Retail Web Audience Grows 18 Percent in the Past Year as Nearly 3 of Every 5 Internet Users Now Shop Online. Coupon sites were among the most popular category of online retail outlets with 7.6 million visitors in November, representing an increase of 629 percent from the same period last year.
Can you imagine that? A 629 per cent increase is so phenomenal.
But I am not surprised. With the ability to browse and shop online via the mobile phone and not just a computer, no wonder marketers are wooing their audience with price offs literally delivered into their hands. At a recent bloggers’ meet, someone said that one can find more homes with a mobile phone than toothbrushes. We don’t even want to imagine the oral hygiene problems in that household. Ha! Today, I no longer shop groceries online. Not saying I won’t since there are at least three that I know of, in our area, but I enjoy visiting the supermarket and picking my own stuff.
As far as books, clothes, accessories, electronics and other household stuff are concerned, it is a big yes. What I love about online shopping and the added bonus of using coupon codes are the following:

• No haggling
• Cheaper prices – coupon codes mean big discounts
• Convenient – click, click and I am done
• I find things I can’t find offline!
• Home delivery, invariably free shipping
• Easy exchange policy with reverse pickup
• No commute – big time savings
• Can access from anywhere
• Safe secure shopping with purchase tracking
• Different payment options – prepay or pay on delivery
• Some sites also have the try and buy facility where you can order something, receive it, try it on for size and buy it only if you want it. How cool is that
• When I couldn’t leave the house I didn’t have to panic. I could just go online and order
• I can order something and have it delivered, gift wrapped to the address of my choice
• I can specify the date and time slot that was convenient for me to receive my order – this is great for special occasions and celebrations
• Many of the sites I shop with also ship to other countries

I like that CupoNation delivers the best coupons right into my mailbox. I just visit the site and search for my favorite stores, find the discount code and use it to shop and save money. Doesn’t get easier than that! CupoNation also has a quick reference on its home page featuring the top 20 coupon codes, new arrivals and the categories under which you can find deals. There is everything from apparel, flowers, health and beauty, jewelry, baby stuff, travel deals… and lots more. Discounts can be anything up to 80 per cent off. I stay updated through their Facebook fan page
 
With friends and family spread across the globe, I am glad to have a website that I can trust to send me the best deals, helping me get the most value for my money.
Disclosure: This is a feel-good post where I wanted to share my happiness about being able to shop online. No keyboards, computer screens or fingers were harmed while writing this post. Not even credit cards!
Do you shop online?  What is your experience with coupon sites?  And which one is your favorite?  How did Cyber Monday go for you?

(First Image credited to Economic Times)