This year’s hip, new trend won’t be found on the catwalk or in the hallways of the nation’s middle schools. Rather, it will be found in the grocery store checkout aisle. Coupons have become cool.

“Frugality is the new black,” said coupons.com spokesman Patrick Crisp.

Coupon usage has dramatically increased in recent years after the Great Recession, and it’s not just those strapped for cash looking to save.

Wealthier and educated individuals are the main users of coupons, according to a survey conducted by Harris Interactive and commissioned by coupons.com.

The survey found that 6 out of 10 adults who have an income of $100,000 or more have redeemed a coupon in the last six months. Those with a college education also are more likely to use a coupon and make a purchase specifically to redeem a coupon.

“The stigma of ‘Are you using food stamps, too?’ Probably isn’t happening,” Crisp said.

Local deals

Redeeming coupons is catching on in Durango. City Market offers 10 cents off a gallon of gas for every 100 points shoppers earn on their store card. Here’s how it works: For every dollar shoppers spend, they earn a point, so by spending $100, they get 10 cents off each gallon of gas at their next fill-up at any Shell station.

City Market spokeswoman Kelli McGannon said the chain has seen an increase in customers using coupons in digital and print form. The chain offers digital coupons that a shopper can load onto their store “loyalty” card.

“I think we saw an increase (in coupons) go up in the last couple years, and this year has held steady,” McGannon said. “People’s grocery bills and gas bills contribute a lot to the money they spend, and our goal is to deliver value on both.”

Ardent coupon users look for stores that will double and triple coupons. City Market doubles all coupons that are worth a dollar or less, meaning if a coupon is worth 50 cents, it’ll save the consumer $1 off a product when used.

Albertsons corporate spokeswoman Christine Wilcox said she couldn’t speak about the Durango store’s coupon policies, and local employees declined to comment.

Walmart will match a competitor’s price but will not double coupons.

Digital coupons are on the rise, but print coupons still dominate the market, according to the U.S. mid-year 2011 Consumer Packaged Goods Coupon Facts Report. Digital coupons make up less than 1 percent of the coupons in the marketplace.

The recession increased coupon usage, but consumers also have been inspired by TLC’s show “Extreme Couponing,” which features shoppers saving thousands of dollars using coupons.

Another sign of coupons’ popularity is the multitude of websites, books and blogs devoted to them. Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey, inspired the website thekrazycouponlady.com, where consumers can search for coupons, grocery store policies and tricks on how to get items free by combining coupons.

‘Like’ saving money?

The world of savings extends beyond coupon websites and newspaper clippings. Social media is playing a role, and consumers can save money by “liking” a company’s Facebook page.

But Crisp warns that extreme couponing is not the norm, and people who save huge amounts of money on their grocery bills usually spend hours every week scouring the Web for coupons, clipping them from newspapers and organizing them before going shopping.

“Going into grocery stores and seeing extreme couponing is not typical,” he said. “I think that a lot of readers would like to be extreme couponers, but it takes a lot of time.”

To put “real-world shopping” to the test, Jeanette Pavini, coupons.com household savings expert, planned a seven-day meal schedule for a family of four, including personal and pet items.

Pavini spent 40 minutes searching for and clipping coupons and saved 45 percent on her grocery bill.

But people aren’t just looking to save on grocery bills. Sites like coupons.com and groupon.com offer savings codes and discounts for restaurants, retail stores, airlines and other products.

While Groupon’s services haven’t caught on in Durango, two local businesses posted ads on the site in surrounding areas to expand their advertising.

Durango Discovery Museum posted two ads for four days each, one in Albuquerque and the other in Salt Lake City.

“It was really great, I think, for exposure,” said Haz Said, Durango Discovery Museum communications and marketing director. “It helps to raise our visibility in larger centers.”

Full Blast Adventure Center owner Cameron Winters said the site was effective for advertising, but he didn’t make much money because the site collects 50 percent of the revenue obtained from its ad sales.

While Groupon has posted some ads for specific items at national chains, spokesman Chad Nason said the site works primarily with local businesses to promote their products.

“At our core, Groupon is always about working with local businesses,” he said. “We like to partner with them to keep them strong. We were founded to work with local merchants.”

jdahl@durangoherald.com