Secrets of finding grocery coupons online

I talked to Lisa Reynolds, the “resident mom saver in chief” at RedPlum, which distributes coupons to 40 million people in the Sunday newspaper, about how likely a manufacturer is to send you a coupon upon request, secrets to making the most of RedPlum.com, and how coupons will distributed in the future.

Why aren’t there more grocery coupons online? I think we’re seeing an increase in that. More manufacturers have started placing coupons online. People are going to look for savings wherever they can find them. Coupon distribution for consumer packaged goods is up 11 percent from 2009 to 2008.

Do the coupons at RedPlum.com match the ones in Sunday newspaper? There is not 100 percent overlap, so you want to check both places. The coupons online change more rapidly.

Are they restocked on the first of the month like other sites?  Not necessarily. We ask people to sign up for our emails, which tell you when they are restocked.

Why are the coupons limited to a certain number of printings online? It is based on what the manufacturer wants to distribute.

How many printings do you typically see? Tens of thousands for most coupons.

How can people sign up for RedPlum coupons? The best way to figure out where they can receive coupons is to go to RedPlum.com [and click on] where is my coupon book?

What if I’m not eligible to receive them? We suggest people contact the manufacturers directly through [the manufacturer] 800-number. Most manufacturers list it on the back of their products. Thirty percent of the time manufacturers will send you coupons.

How are coupon distributers coping with decreasing newspaper circulation? It is a challenge and one of the things that we are able to offer them is a blended solution. [Through newspapers, direct mail in some markets, and online distribution.]

How will coupons be distributed in the future? We’re continuing to see a lot of experimentation with mobile phones and texting. That will continue to proliferate. The key is to make it easy and convenient.