On-line coupons and discounts have been used for long time by on-line and brick and mortar businesses alike to put their foot in the consumer's door. Lately, there seems to be a steep increase in consumer's interest for coupons, justified by the difficult economic times. A report published at the end of the last year by comScore, shows a 161% increase in on-line searches for "coupons". Another recent study run in 2009 by Platform-A , a AOL company, found that 4 in 10 shoppers would be very likely to use on-line coupons. The study also found that 45% of the consumers who are most receptive to online coupon offers are between 18 and 44, while almost one out of every four traditional coupons users is 65 or older.

This clearly shows an increased trend in consumer behaviour, but some authors say that coupons just train the costomers to wait for your next promotion instead of building brand loyalty.

What do you think? Do you offer coupons to your customers? Do they help you increase your bottom line?