-By Steve Miller

Bad news for trees, good news for business.

A new study finds that 72% of consumers are using more coupons than they did six months ago. Three-quarters of those respondents claimed the economy made them do it.

The study, conducted online by Prospectiv, Wakefield. Mass. earlier this month, polled 1,386 consumers. The vast majority (81%) said use coupons for grocery items.

While newspapers and magazines were the primary source of coupons for 51% of consumers, 39% said they wanted to receive their future coupons via direct mail, while 26% said e-mail, either direct or through newsletters, would work. Another 16% preferred Web sites. Newspapers trailed with 14% favoring the once prevalent way to obtain coupons.

The study also found:
* 80% said they would be very likely or likely to increase their use of coupons if they could be tailored to their interests and delivered online.
* 87% of shoppers said they would be more likely to shop at a retailer that offered coupons.
* And the good news for newspapers: 47% found print and online coupons equally convenient, while just 9% reported online coupons were most convenient.

"The one thing that really surprised me about this study was how many people wanted to receive their coupons via direct mail and how many other wanted some form of Web delivery," said Jere Doyle, CEO and founder of Prospectiv, a consumer packaged goods consultancy that has worked with General Mills and Betty Crocker. "And also while newspapers ranked so high on where people get their coupons now, that is way down in terms of preferred delivery."

The finding echoes previous studies conducted this year in the wake of the falling dollar and subtle inflation. ICOM Information & Communications, Toronto, which in April polled over 1,500 U.S. shoppers, found 89% of those queried said they were either much more likely or more likely to use coupons in the case of a recession. Printable Internet coupons were favored by 52% of respondents compared to the 31% who preferred newspaper coupons.
 
"If we fast forward, we are going to see most people getting coupons from the Internet, and that's the preference of consumers," Doyle said. "It's much easier for them to get what they want online, and marketers are going to have to figure that into their plans."