The free application makes it easy for mobile users to save with coupons they can print, save to their grocery store loyalty card or redeem at point of sale by showing coupons on their mobile devices.

“The strategy behind the application is to give consumers the ability to access the coupons they want, whenever they need them, wherever they are,” said Brian Weisfeld, chief operating officer of Coupons.com, Mountain View, CA. “We want to make coupons ubiquitous for consumers and this was a major step in overcoming that challenge.”

The Coupons.com application makes it easy for mobile users to browse and select from hundreds of printable, Save to Card and Show & Save coupons.

With the “Coupons” tab, users browse available offers and select the ones they want using the “Clip” option. They can then print the coupons wirelessly to HP printers or send the coupons to an email address for printing later.

Using the “Savings Card” tab, users can browse available offers and select the ones they want using the “Add to Card” option.

They can even browse and select coupon offers while they shop. The coupons are automatically loaded to the user’s retail store loyalty card.

When the loyalty card information is entered at checkout, coupons are automatically deducted from the total—all without the need for clipping or scanning printed coupons.

Save to Card currently supports shopper loyalty programs from Safeway, Vons, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Pavilions and Carrs, which span over 1,700 stores in the United States and in Western Canada.

Loyalty programs for additional retail chain partners will be added soon.

Coupons.com offers over 12,000 hyper-local offers from retailers and service providers across the country.

With the “Local Offers” tab, mobile users simply browse a list of available coupons and click the ones they want.

They can also choose to browse coupons from nearby retailers and service providers based on their GPS location and even pull up a map leading them directly to the merchant offering the savings.

Shoppers can choose to browse offers ahead of time or browse at the point of service, and simply show the coupons right on their phones for savings.

The application solves a number of challenges for consumers, per Mr. Weisfeld.

“The application addresses a number of things,” Mr. Weisfeld said. “It addresses how to save money regardless of the economic environment and how to make lives more efficient and how to get last-minute savings on way to the store.”

To support the application, Coupons.com has invested considerably in online marketing, particularly search marketing, email and display.

Also, the company will increase awareness through display ads on Coupons.com.

Coupons.com currently has 19.5 million unique monthly visitors and is the 39th largest Web property in the U.S. Many of these users visit the site multiple times each month, so a lot of users will learn about the mobile application just by visiting the online site.

Coupons.com’s business model involves charging the brands which provide coupons on its site for each coupon printed or saved to a loyalty card. It is a pay-for-performance model, and a growing base of marketers and brands are using digital coupons to reach consumers.

“Why go mobile with coupons?” Mr. Weisfeld said. “It just makes sense.

“More and more consumers are using digital coupons,” he said. “And, more consumers are actively engaging with smart phones.

“Whether users want to use the application to browse offers or use their mobile device to redeem coupons, going mobile with our service makes total sense.”