online coupons

Extreme couponers are still essentially a fringe group, but the Great Recession has given rise to a savvy new breed of mainstream shoppers who've finely honed the art of couponing. Here are a few of their stories.

Midwestern and Southern shoppers just love their digital coupons. West Coasters -- not so much. Learn what else a survey of U.S. cities' online coupon usage revealed -- and which super-frugal state had three cities in the top 25 list -- and two in the top 10.

Active Groupon users now have a way to sweeten their relationships with the daily deals leader -- but it's going to cost them. Groupon is rolling out Groupon VIP, a program where deal chasers pay $29.99 a year for enhanced benefits on the site.

On the surface, it appears daily deals purveyor Groupon is more popular than ever. It ended 2011 with 33 million active customers in 47 countries, and it's growing fast. But look closer, and there are signs that "Groupon fatigue" is kicking in.

There's a new daily deals player, and it's a company that's near and dear to your virtual pocketbook. And if you think the online coupons sector is too saturated for a fresh entry to make a dent, you're ignoring a few important things about PayPal.

When it comes to saving money on groceries, using coupons can cut your bill in half. But in this fast-paced digital age, who has time to find the deals? We've consulted the coupon experts to help you save money on food without giving up your social life.

Did Groupon's deal Friday for a Manhattan helicopter tour spin into bad taste? The email offer to New Yorkers comes just 10 days after a helicopter from a different company plunged into the city's East River, killing two tourists.

Facebook dipped a big toe into the group-buying waters on Tuesday, launching a test of its Deals on Facebook service. But though it's coming late to the game, analysts and merchants say they won't be surprised if the social networking titan soon poses a viable threat to market leaders Groupon and LivingSocial.

Although he says he's "not exactly certain what" Groupon's appeal is, Jason Child has plenty of possibilities. And he's certain that even given the online coupon company's explosive growth, there's plenty of room for further expansion. But don't expect an IPO anytime soon.

Groupon is planning an initial public offering that would value the three-year-old online coupon distribution site at as much as $15 billion -- more than double what Google reportedly bid on the company last year -- The New York Times reported.