Shopping online has now become a fact and natural part of life. If in the past there were only few online stores these days any real world store without an online representation is considered outdated and non relevant. Some of the key past concerns and rejection reasons the online shops (or e-commerce) suffered in the past were solved. These were all mostly focused with security, and fraud prevention. New security and payment solutions such as encrypted transactions and services like PayPal (http://www.paypal.com) eliminated much if not all of the risks once associated with online commerce.

To prove the point of how much shopping online became mainstream and accepted by the general public, we can look into the online shoppers’ vote of confidence in online stores. Looking at the online shopping industry figures of 2006 we can learn that online shopping grew to $140 billions. Online shops are now available for many segments that we wouldn't imagine will be able to succeed online. Take for example Blue Nile (http://www.bluenile.com) store selling diamonds online. Who would have thought that shoppers will be willing to buy and trusting an online store that sells diamonds? The store is very successful traded in the NASDAQ with revenues over $150 millions in 2006.

As shopping online became mainstream so are other marketing methods and techniques we are familiar with in the real world. Coupons are now available online to help shoppers save and get discounts on their purchases. Online coupons are typically delivered in a form of a coupon code which the shopper needs to copy and paste into a dedicated spot in the checkout process. Other forms of coupons are electronic links or electronic coupons that get activated once clicked by the shoppers. In addition online stores are now delivering limited time coupons, free shipping coupons and special deals coupons and promotions.

Where can shoppers find these online coupon codes? Those are available in dedicated coupons sites. Example of such sites include www.dealcatcher.com, www.Karens-deals.com, www.couponcabin.com . Some of the more advance coupon sites deliver more than just online coupons. For example in www.karens-deals.com shoppers can find coupon codes, special deals and sales; and in addition gift ideas and suggestions (http://www.karens-deals.com/index.php?controller=giftIdeals) , price comparison service enabling to compare between hundreds of online stores and find the best or lowest price (http://karens-deals.pricerunner.com/) , Introduction to online stores that are either new or sometime less familiar to the online shoppers audience (http://www.karens-deals.com/index.php?controller=bigDeals) , Travel deals and leisure / free time and culture activities coupons and deals (for example for concerts, plays, games etc).

These advance online coupons sites are a perfect place for the smart online shopper to start (or actually end) his shopping experience. After identifying the desired item, locating the best price or store shoppers can add to their savings by using online coupons. Another point worth remembering is that in many states online shopping has no tax another reason to shop smart and online.