Online shoppers use promotional codes to save

The financial downturn has inspired even more Brits to head online in search of the best deals, and now they're capitalising on already low prices with promotional codes.

Money-saving Brits can easily find promotion codes - which work like coupons at the grocery store - free of charge on a variety of websites. When presented at the online checkout, promotional codes can save shoppers enormous amounts of cash. Sometimes, the coupons even provide for items free of charge.

Traditionally, male shoppers have shied away from this kind of deliberate bargain-hunting. However, with pocketbooks thinning across the nation, even the most resistant online shoppers are recognizing the benefits of promotional codes and coupons.

For etailers, the coupons provide an excellent opportunity to reach out to new customer bases. A promotion may encourage a shopper to pick one company's product over a competitor's or may inspire a shopper to visit a website for the first time. With the internet being one of the biggest marketing and advertising tools available, etailers with online promotions are at an advantage when it comes to getting shoppers to visit their sites.

And when customers are satisfied with an etailer's offerings, they're likely to recommend the company to their family and friends - which recent surveys from Nielsen have determined is the single most important way a brand can build trust.