The Dow didn’t crash again today (it closed up 226 points, in fact), but the economy still isn’t in fantastic shape, and it doesn’t harm anyone to save a few bucks even when it is.  So shoppers, take note: discounts are available at all sorts of online stores as long as you turn to Google, and not PayPal or a credit card, when it’s time to check out.

As if to complement MySpace’s collection of offers to developers, a post on the Official Google Checkout Blog stated today, "Graduation and Father’s Day are around the corner, and it’s time to reward dads and grads for their hard work.  Google Checkout makes it easy to find great deals to show dads our appreciation and to give grads our congratulations."

Then came the important details: "Hundreds of Checkout stores are offering exclusive discounts of $5, $10, or $20 on purchases made now through June 18, 2010.  Find places to shop such as Nautica, TigerDirect.com, golfballs.com, eBags and more on the Google Checkout Deals Page.  Or search for products to buy on Google.com and look for the Google Checkout promotion badge."

This represents a nice offer if you’re planning on making a purchase, anyway.  Or even if you can do a little Christmas shopping in June, since interest rates aren’t nearly high enough to make holding onto your money longer a worthwhile idea.

It seems possible the promotion will give Google Checkout’s user numbers a boost, then, although the service has a lot of catching up to do and retaining those users could prove difficult.