The number of vouchers being used to get discounts when making purchases online has risen by 15 per cent in the past 12 months, according to a new study.

Retail Times reports that on average a voucher code will net British consumers a saving of 15 per cent, equating to the equivalent of around £10 off the typical price of an e-commerce order.

Two thirds of shoppers in the UK now make use of voucher codes, a significant increase from the 48 per cent who said they took advantage of similar savings opportunities in 2014.

Female consumers are more familiar with vouchers than their male counterparts, with 94 per cent of the women questioned saying they knew how to use this type of offer.

The study also broke down the use of voucher codes for safe shopping online on a geographical basis, with Welsh residents found to be the country in which the greatest overall growth in use was seen in 2015.

England still leads the UK in terms of voucher use, with 67 per cent of its shoppers harnessing code-based discounts when using e-commerce sites.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland is home to the least voucher-savvy shoppers, with just 40 per cent saying they try to find discounts before they place an online order.

The over 65s were found to be especially in favour of voucher codes, with 63 per cent of people falling into this age group now seeking out savings.

Search giant, Google, has released figures which echo the findings of the report, with a dramatic increase in the number of queries relating to promotional codes occurring in 2015. And specific retailers, including Dominos Pizza and Debenhams, are proving to be very adept at catering to the bargain-hunting habits of consumers in the UK.