A year after Incahoot.com started offering consumers discounts on household bills, the collective buying site is today taking its offers beyond utility bills and onto the high street. It has extended its portfolio and now offers its members more ways to save money with a new shopping discount scheme, Incahoot PLUS.

As households face the toughest year on record, the company that can already save consumers up to £1,315 a year, has joined forces with People Value, one of the UK’s leading employee benefits companies. Incahoot PLUS offers its members exclusive discounts, which are normally only accessed through employee benefits packages available to large corporations, across a range of supermarkets and high street shops, with members able to save more than £1,000 a year.

Incahoot PLUS members have the chance to benefit from the best deals across an extensive range of food, retail and leisure brands in the UK, along with exclusive offers available in members’ local areas for a small annual fee of £29.99. Incahoot PLUS membership will also be given free to anyone who buys home or car insurance or an energy deal through Incahoot from Saturday 11 February 2012.

With reports predicting that the ‘squeezed middle’ won’t return to pre-recession living standards until 2020*, many people have started the year by tightening their belts, as they try to navigate the difficult financial climate and ensure ends meet.

Negotiations are led by UK CEO John Evans, who comments, “From speaking with both our consumer panel and customers extensively, we understand how difficult it is for consumers to make ends meet, not only with their utility bills, but also on their regular grocery shopping and essential clothing. We launched Incahoot PLUS as a natural extension to our original offering to help ease the burden of everyday living for our members, allowing them more control of their spending and savings.”

Incahoot PLUS features top 10 rated offers, hot products and an A-Z of all of the brands offering discounts.

This natural extension of its portfolio comes just weeks after Incahoot.com launched its concierge service, which is free and open to anyone to use. Anyone looking to switch providers simply needs to send in a copy of their latest bill, and Incahoot will work out how much money they can save. Once consumers are happy with a deal, Incahoot can even help them to switch suppliers.

* According to the Resolution Foundation’s Squeezed Britain study
** Deals are subject to change and availability without notice and can be withdrawn at anytime