For my area it's the same types of deals - stores, restaurants and services. It's either restaurants at 50% off or nail salons, lawn services, maid services, painters, etc. How many of those do you need? If you bought the deal from the painter, do you need another deal from a painter a month later. Once you check off those boxes of things you need or want to get done, it's just repetition for stuff you don't need anymore. There's nothing new keeping you coming back. No wonder traffic has dropped, the quality and the novelty have worn off.
In their defense eating out, getting nails done, massages, etc. are things many people do weekly.
The bigger problem is its basically an "unloyalty" program for the businesses. Why go back to the same massage therapist and pay full price? I'll just wait until the one down the street runs their 50% off deal in a couple weeks.
>I'll just wait until the one down the street runs their 50% off deal in a couple weeks. //
That may not be the worst of it - the people will wait for you to do a deal. It seems likely every new customer you gain this way will only purchase at a discount, Groupons look like ant powder to me.
i agree. many small businesses are using groupon or livingsocial to bring in foot traffic, then switching the new consumers over onto their own loyalty programs to retain them. if the consumers like their experiences, they can join a mailing list, where the vendor can send their own discounts.
this, and highly unconventional approach regarding the IPO by andrew mason (not remaining quiet during pre-IPO quiet period, recent executive reshuffling), as well as questionable sustainability, will probably delay the IPO for several months. i, as i'm sure many others, are curious as to what the company will look like in a year.
