Have you visited Coupons.com lately? It’s been years since couponers flocked to the site on a daily basis, looking to grab the latest printable coupons as they came out.
These days, there’s a world of savings out there beyond printable coupons – and Coupons.com wants to be your new one-stop shop for online shopping and saving.
The new owners of the site have launched cash-back capabilities for online shopping, along with a browser extension that promises to automatically search for and apply coupon codes and cash back offers. That’s in addition to the printable coupons that are still on the site, but are no longer the sole or even the main attraction.
“As the holiday season approaches, shoppers are looking for simple and effective ways to make their money go further,” Alexander Ketter, Managing Director USA of Coupons.com’s owner Atolls, said in a statement. “With the addition of cashback and our new extension, we’re making it easier than ever for consumers to save money.”
The cash back feature allows visitors to begin their shopping trips on Coupons.com, activate an offer, click through to a merchant’s site, and earn a percentage of their purchase in the form of cash back. Shoppers who install the browser extension can skip the initial visit to Coupons.com and activate the tool to apply available coupons, cash back and deals from the thousands of retailers that Coupons.com works with.
The move makes Coupons.com the latest entrant into a crowded field of online cash-back providers and coupon code finders, like Honey, Capital One Shopping and RetailMeNot. But it’s a potentially lucrative one that Coupons.com is apparently eager to take part in.
It’s also one of the site’s most notable changes since Atolls, formerly known as Global Savings Group, took ownership of Coupons.com more than two years ago.
Quotient Technology announced the sale of the site three years ago, after its then-CEO downplayed the importance of printable coupons and predicted their imminent demise. At that time, the site featured a few dozen printable coupons – far from the hundreds it once offered – and not much else.
When the new owners took over, a large selection of online coupon codes were added, along with a separate page devoted to “shopping inspiration, expert reviews, gift guides, top sales, product comparisons, and more,” as the new Coupons.com aimed to “extend its offering beyond traditional coupons and discounts.”
And now there’s cash back as well. “Whether it’s with coupon codes or cashback, Coupons.com helps shoppers get the most value every time they shop,” Ketter said.
Back in its heyday, Coupons.com dominated the thriving printable coupon space. According to online traffic tracker Semrush, visits to Coupons.com peaked a decade ago, at nearly 12 million a month. By the time the site was sold, its printable coupon selection had declined, and monthly visits bottomed out at under half a million.
Traffic is up since then, but nowhere near its peak. So Coupons.com may no longer dominate the category it’s named for. And online coupon codes and cash back is a much more competitive space than it’s accustomed to. But if the promise of more savings can attract more shoppers who may have strayed over the years, then the new owners may find their purchase of Coupons.com to be well worth the investment.
