Coupon clipping is officially over now that Shortcuts by AOL offers a service where coupons can be electronically linked to your grocery store card. That way you can receive your savings upon checkout with no actual coupons required.

This is great because coupons in the mail are always hidden among advertisements and other types of junkmail. Few of us have enough time to sift through the garbage to find the coupons for things that we will actually buy.

Currently, the following stores participate: Kroger, Ralphs, Gerbes, QFC, Hilander, Smiths, Bakers, King Soopers, City Market, Pay Less (not Pay Less Shoes), JayC, Dillons, Owens, Frys (not Frys Electronics). I think, Ralphs is the only participating market in Los Angeles for now.

If you have an internet enabled phone, electronically grab your coupons from Shortcuts while you shop. Also, for those who are shopping snobs, you won’t have the “embarassment” of breaking out your coupon stack at the checkout stand thus slowing down the line and looking like a cheapskate.

While Shortcuts coupon inventory is not very large right now, this is a very novel idea and I expect that it will get support from other markets and manufacturers and eventually take off.

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