A research study from Platform-A and IRI polled more than 36,000 panelists and found that online coupons hold great interest to Internet users - particularly the younger generations. The study revealed that nearly 4 out of every 10 shoppers would be "very likely" to use coupons accessed online. That number rises to 51% when polling the 18- to 24-year-old segment.

Other findings include that younger couples are the most likely life-stage group to use online coupons, and young couples without children are the most likely, followed by young couples with children.

It's a good time to offer online coupons. As Mark Ellis, senior vice president, AOL/Platform-A explains, "We have an economy that makes coupons much more relevant to the average consumer, a rising generation of families totally at home with the Internet, and an overall decline of the newspaper and its Sunday circular distribution. There's clearly a huge window of opportunity here."

Online coupons have a significant advantage over their paper-bound ancestors in that they can be distributed almost anywhere. Businesses can offer coupons through their websites, e-mail, networking applications like Facebook and Twitter, SMS, even 2D barcodes on posters, signs or magazine ads. Of course, there are also online coupon networks to leverage. Some popular choices for consumers, (therefore, places to list your coupons) are Coupons.com, RetailMeNot.com, Shopzilla.com, CoolSavings.com and CouponCabin.com.

Related Post: Where are Consumers Comparison Shopping?