Grocery Coupons Now Used More Often By Grocery Shoppers

Food prices overall rose 5.1 percent between May 2007 and May 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA predicts prices for food consumed at home will rise another 5 percent to 6 percent this year. That can mean quite an increase in the typical family grocery bill and cost of putting food on the table.

While there are several techniques offered for effecting savings on your grocery bill, grocery coupons and supermarket loyalty cards can be some of the most effective. Coupons and loyalty cards can help you save BIG.

A survey conducted for Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine found that shoppers who used grocery coupons saved an average of $678 a year, or more than 10 cents of every grocery dollar. When you combined the coupons with on-sale items and use them with special double or triple coupon days your grocery savings can easily exceed 40 cents of every grocery dollar.

The availability and value of grocery coupons varies greatly. While newspapers have traditionally been known as easiest way to get your hands on lots of coupon savings, we at Grocery Guide are seeing some interesting trends develop in regards to online grocery coupons. Online coupon usage is up 83% over the same period last year.

With our extensive coupon data files we are able to go back a number of years and track variances such as "face value" and "frequency of issue" on specific brands, products and manufacturers. As the online coupon market continues to evolve we are predicting big changes for coupon users and will be sharing more of our findings soon.

So for now remember, to save money on the grocery bill; "pre-shop" by comparing stores, brands and products online, prepare your shopping list, locate and use grocery coupons (online or newspapers) and supermarket loyalty cards and plan your meals around what is on sale at the local grocery store.