When the economy sinks deeper, consumers tend to get creative about finding ways to cut on spending.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Equipped with scissors, printers and shopping carts, in recent years many Americans have hunted for online coupons to save on products like canned soup, toothpaste and cookies.<\/span><\/p>\n While consumers print and clip their coupons, economists closely watch their activity, trying to link it to economic growth or decline.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Over the years, they have calculated that the more people print coupons, the worse the economic pressure they are feeling.<\/p>\n Originally intended as a form of advertising, coupons became a way for some customers to increase the value of their non-monetary exchange for groceries and goods.<\/p>\n It also became an economic indicator of how well the economy is doing, creating a phenomenon called the \u201cCoupon Index.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Websites such as Coupons.com track the frequency with which people download and print coupons. This shows an increase or decline in coupon users\u2019 activity, and as a result in the consumers\u2019 intend to save more money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During times of economic hardship, the discounts become a reliable source for many to save money. Advertisements have transformed into ways to save and get the products for \u201ccouponers,\u201d as they call themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “The index tends to run in a range,” Steven Boal, a CEO at Coupons.com said in an interview with CNBC. “In September, October, November in 2007, it popped out of its range for the first time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Boal said he believes coupons represent a useful indicator of shopper behavior and economic activity because \u201cyou don’t need months of data to see consumer behavior patterns emerge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A few years ago during the peak of economic decline, coupon redemption topped 3.3 billion while shoppers sought the way to save on groceries and goods, according to Business Insider.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n