CouponAlbum.com’s mobile site, http://couponalbum.mobi, displays the top-clicked coupons, discounts and free shipping offers, as well as screened deals. Consumers will be able to search discounts by store name, product name, SKU and area code.

“We want to improve the customer’s shopping experience by providing near real time information on online coupons, deals, printable and local coupons,” said Vik Mehta, CEO of CouponAlbum.com, Sunnyvale, CA. “This will help shoppers make better informed decisions.”

CouponAlbum.com provides online and in-store coupons and deals through its PC Web and mobile platforms.

CouponAlbum said that it was seeing increased user traffic searching for Black Friday coupons and deals from their mobile devices.

Coupons on the go
The new mobile site is being targeted at online and in-store shoppers who are looking for deals.

Mr. Mehta said that the new mobile site will help customers make better informed decisions on their purchases and reduce merchandise returns.

“Most of the times shoppers come to know that the product was available cheaper elsewhere after making the purchase or that they could have applied a coupon to get it cheaper,” Mr. Mehta said. “Also, many times the merchandise can be found cheaper online compared to in-store.”
 
Studies have shown that mobile will be used extensively by consumers this holiday season.

According to a study by the Yankee Group mobile retail offerings will transform the behavior of consumers this holiday shopping season.

The new study, “’Tis the Season: Mobile Retailing Will Transform 2009 Holiday Shopping,” also found that 63 percent of American shoppers will spend less this year. Yankee Group said that 31 percent of smartphone users have used their devices to compare products and prices while shopping in a retail location (see story).

In preparation for the busy holiday season, many retailers have been rolling out mobile coupons and mobile commerce sites.

Toys”R”Us  recently launched a new mobile commerce Web site and two applications.

In addition to the mobile commerce push, Toysrus.com is offering free shipping deals and egift cards. Consumers can also sign up to receive instant email alerts on coupons and unadvertised sales (see story).

Mr. Mehta said that mobile coupons will get more and more popular as the customers start realizing how much they can save by using them.

“They will even become more popular if the merchants start providing customers with mobile coupon codes that can be applied in-store at checkout,” Mr. Mehta said. “We feel that mobile coupons will help customers decide on what, where and when to buy and at what price point.”