Yahoo has just launched Yahoo Deals, a site that offers coupons, deals and shopping related tips in a searchable format. According to the release, “web searches for “printable coupons” on Yahoo! are up 50 percent in 2009, compared to the same time in 2008, and up 135 percent compared to 2007.” As mainstream news readers abandon their print subscriptions for online news sources, Yahoo’s alternative form of coupon clipping is likely to increase brand loyalty and help families weather the recession.
Said Greg Hintz, head of Yahoo Shopping: “Frugality is the new cool. We now know that couponing and bargain hunting are losing their stigma and are now a regular habit for many people. Our goal at Yahoo is to be the center of people’s online lives and we’re making Yahoo the easiest place for consumers to find and manage the coupons and deals that are relevant to their lives.”
While we see that there’s value in coupons and exclusive deals, it’s a little strange to see someone call frugality “the new cool”. Perhaps it would be more apt to call it a “bitter necessity for tough times” or simply, “sensible”. In any case, Deals offers users a chance to find the cheapest gas in their area, clip coupons from Valpak and Coupons.com and check for daily sales on computers, housewares and clothing.
The daily deals section is by far the most interesting feature as users can check for deals in the verticals of their choice and be redirected to daily sale sites like Smart Bargains and Woot via Sellout.Woot. In this case, Yahoo finally gets a chance to really showcase their 2007 Woot partnership in a shopping experience that isn’t a maze of click-thrus. For those readers who are already following Woot on Twitter, you may want to also follow Yahoo Deals and increase your chances of scoring cheap computer equipment or stereo gear.
As for the coupons section, if Yahoo Deals gains real momentum, coupon clippers might be found abusing office supplies (namely toner cartridges and paper) across the country. One great way to combat the waste of old school coupon clipping would be for Yahoo to offer a mobile version complete with scannable bar codes. This way a deal finder could simply load up their mobile phone with the correct bar codes and cashiers could scan the jpegs.
