As consumer prices rise and the economy founders, Web surfers are scouring cyberspace for deals.

A new study released this week by market research firm Hitwise showed that online coupon clipping is on the rise.

Hitwise told Reuters that U.S. visits to certain custom coupon Web sites increased 66 percent from May 2007 to May of this year.

Heather Dougherty, research director at Hitwise, said shoppers are trying to cope with cost of living increases.

“While discretionary income is shrinking for some households, consumers are still shopping online, but making sure they find the best deals,” she said in a statement.

Coupons.com led the pack within the category, grabbing 29 percent of the market and chalking up a 190 percent increase since last year.  Coupon Mountain and Eversave rounded out the top three with 14 percent and 6 percent, respectively.

When Hitwise measured traffic from the week ending June 6, they found that search engines directed 20 percent of penny-pinching shoppers to coupon sites. Of the top search terms, 60 percent included a reference to a specific brand or branded product.

Monthly visits to comparison shopping Web sites also increased 60 percent from May 2007 to May of this year, Hitwise spokesman Matt Tatham said.

Looking for a bargain? Here are some other coupon sites:

• Coolsavings.com
• Couponsurfer.com
• Valpak.com
• grocerycouponguide.com

Check out Staples’ higher offer for Corporate Express.

The U.S. office supplies retailer offered to buy the Dutch company for $2.65 billion – up from its previous unsolicited offer of about $2.34 billion — even as Corporate Express is trying to fight off the takeover bid with a bid of its own.

The Dutch company said in May that it would buy French rival Lyreco for about $2.2 billion, creating the largest business-to-business distributor of office supplies in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

On Tuesday, Staples raised its offer, contingent on Corporate Express shareholders rejecting the Lyreco bid. Corporate Express said it would carefully review Staples’ offer and respond in due course.

Analysts think the U.S. retailer’s bid might bear fruit this time around, although Corporate Express could still try to delay it.

Also in the basket:

Anheuser-Busch hires financial advisers

U.S. chain store sales fall 0.8 percent last week - ICSC

Walmart.com offers free classified ads

(Photo: Reuters)

Check out a different weak market for retailers.
 
Not only are retailers having trouble selling merchandise, they are also having trouble selling themselves.
 
The days of the buyout boom, when the underlying value of real estate attracted buyers to retail assets is gone, analysts and bankers told Reuters.
 
But there could be value for some investors.
 
“These markets will also create opportunistic deals for people willing to dig deep, do some research and wait for a longer payout. The days of sprucing up an asset for a quick flip are over for now,” said one retail investment banker, who declined to be named.
 
“There’s a lot of folks looking, but not necessarily pulling the trigger,” the banker said.
 
 
Also in the basket:
 
Blockbuster’s Circuit City bid deemed Netflix boon
 
Retailers get stingy with data (N.Y. Times)
 
LVHM Bullish on U.S. (WWD)
 
Supervalu 4th-quarter profit rises, sales edge up

(Photo: Reuters)

Fred Katayama visits a Wal-mart just outside New York City to see how consumers socked with high gas prices and a sputtering economy are changing the way they shop. His full report hits the reuters.com website on Friday. It’s part of a Reuters multimedia presentation in text, video and pictures.