• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, November 1, 2011

While extreme couponing may be more of a reality-TV event than reality, coupon usage continues to be one of the most beloved acts of the American consumer, with 81% of shoppers now a fan. That’s the fifth consecutive year of gains, reports Valassis, which recently presented data from its own research as well BIGInsights, NCH Marketing and coupon bloggers in a webinar.

One big change is how consumers are using those savings, increasingly applying them to everyday necessities: 77% of consumers say they use the money they save by couponing to pay for food and gas. Only 35% say the savings go toward paying down debt, and 15% toward creating an emergency fund. The biggest news, though, may be how much these “typical savers” are gaining, with an average of $31 per week.

But most aren’t extremists. In fact, Valassis reports that only 0.3% of all coupon users fall into the hard-core camp. The majority spends 20 to 30 minutes gathering coupons and sales information per week, and will give up if it becomes too difficult. They also won’t bite at skimpy coupons; anything less than 40 cents off is deemed as a time-waster. And coupons do play into brand loyalty: 80% look for coupons for products that they already recognize.

Digital coupons have grown so quickly in popularity, Valassis reports, because Gen Y, particularly 18-to-24 year olds, are super-focused on coupons. About 90% in this age group report they clip more coupons than they did a year ago, 63% say they spend three hours per week or more online looking for better deals, and 35% have downloaded a coupon to a mobile device.

Still, only 17% of active coupon users use digital coupons, and 80% of those also use print.  Newspapers, however, remain the top place to find coupons, followed by email/coupon alerts.