Coupon clipping goes high tech

Some new ways to get a few cents off at the grocery store:

• ShopRite, Kroger, Safeway and other stores allow shoppers to digitally load coupons onto their store loyalty cards via the store’s site and third parties such as Shortcuts.com and the Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) eSaver. Swiping the card at checkout automatically redeems eligible coupons.

• More stores, including Victoria’s Secret and Zales, are pushing into smart phone-based scannable coupons for use in stores—just show your phone, coupon side up, and a cashier rings up your savings. 

• Location-based apps like Foursquare also offer deals for frequent shoppers. And Cellfire offers a variety of grocery coupons--and lets you save some of them to your grocery store loyalty card—to show in-store.

• As more retailers target coupons to consumers who sign up for email lists, there are still plenty of codes to be found at online coupon aggregation sites, says Warren Storey, the vice president of product and marketing insight for Epsilon, a marketing firm.

• People on store email lists share the codes on sites like RetailMeNot.com and CouponCabin.com--both coupon aggregation sites that collect codes from users. RetailMeNot.com reports that during the first half of 2010, site visitors redeemed coupons worth $63.6 million in savings. For all of 2009, their savings totaled $52.4 million.