Groupon entra en meseta

Look How Groupon's Core Daily Deal Business Has Declined
JIM EDWARDS


A couple of years ago, everyone seemed at excited about Groupon. Every day, there was a new email in your inbox, offering discount sushi or low-cost yoga. What was not to like?

If you're one of those people who begun ignoring those emails over the last few months — or perhaps canceling your subscription altogether — then you're not alone. Groupon's so-called "third-party" revenue, which measures its daily deal business, has peaked and now appears to be in a decline:


SEC

To the company's credit, it is handling this setback with aplomb. Back in 2011, Groupon launched a new "direct" sales business, Groupon Goods, which has grown like wildfire. In Q2 2013, direct sales grew 190% to $190 million. That more than made up for the losses in the old email business, as total revenue was up 7% to $609 million.

As Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofsky recently told us, Groupon is changing. It is no longer a mass, daily email business.

It now regards itself as a mobile first "marketplace," which people will use to search for deals. The transformation seems to be working, and that's good news — because the heyday of the daily deal era appears to be over.

A similar thing appears to be taking place at LivingSocial, which is also moving away from "flash" deals. Despite recent layoffs there, revenues at that company are still growing too.

Business Insider

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