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Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

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Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#31

Post by awjr »

ceejayoz wrote: post #7

Anyone getting their emails has known it was coming for a long time. They used up all the good places pretty quickly - they got the return customers and didn't need to re-run coupons. Now it's all weight loss scams, online courses "worth" $2k but sold for $20, and even sex toys lately.

Well this probably has to do with Groupon deals being "bad" for many restaurants/local businesses and not wanting to be burnt by them. I used to take the restaurant ones, and ensure I bought drinks etc and tip appropriately for the full value of the meal.

Speaking to some of the proprietors/staff, people would come in, eat the offer and drink water, then leave without tipping and never be seen again.

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#32

Post by noelsusman »

sync wrote: post #12
hcrisp wrote: post #10

Will Groupon founder Brad Keywell's newer venture, Uptake, face a similar outcome? A recent Forbes article suggests he's better at starting a company than running it.

Is this it? Looks ridiculous. http://uptake.com

That's a crowded space to get into these days. You're competing directly with the big boys at Microsoft, Google, IBM, etc. as well as countless other startups. This seems especially difficult to do when you don't even have a product to sell.

Also that website is horrendous.

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#33

Post by mikepurvis »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #20

Have any of the groupon competitors reached critical mass? I realize that a large number of "me-too" competitors were started when Groupon exploded, but it seems to me a "groupon that doesn't suck" could be a pretty good business.

Making it not suck for the businesses would be great for actually having a regular rotation. At that point, though, you're basically completing with these guys:

http://www.adsave.ca/

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#35

Post by omouse »

josefresco wrote: post #19
bane wrote: post #16

I'll be honest, I know Groupon and its ilk are terrible business, but as a user of the service I've had lots of fun exploring activities and restaurants that I literally would never have bothered with or known about. In the last few weeks I've taken a Scuba lesson, a Horse Riding lesson, an intro to art class, found a couple new amazing sandwich shops. I took an amazing trip to Ireland for something like 50% off the…

Lots of things might be great for consumers, but for businesses it just doesn't make sense. Besides what I've read, I've heard from business owners/clients who try "group" discount services, but walk away feeling that it did little to help their customer growth long term. Would you be willing to pay more for those same experiences?

I've heard from business owners/clients who try "group" discount services, but walk away feeling that it did little to help their customer growth long term

Sales and discounts aren't a good way to increase customer growth unless they're done consistently. There's a reason that I get a free salad when I get a pizza; no one really wants that salad. There's a reason they have $5 beers every Monday at a bar; no one wants to drink on a Monday.

If the business owners/clients are stupid enough to give away the best experiences for cheap, it's their own damn fault for not having any business sense whatsoever.

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#36

Post by wodenokoto »

kawsper wrote: post #27
bryanlarsen wrote: post #20

Have any of the groupon competitors reached critical mass? I realize that a large number of "me-too" competitors were started when Groupon exploded, but it seems to me a "groupon that doesn't suck" could be a pretty good business.

In Denmark we have http://downtown.dk , they managed to get traction here before Groupon, so they have had most of the market, however it seems like Groupon have been eating parts of their business recently. As an aside Groupon seems to be 100% https, where downtown is only partly https :(

We have a lot of Groupon alternatives in Denmark, from online sites to discount boxes you buy physically in stores, most of them taking considerably less than 50%.

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#38

Post by swang »

> "We believe that in order for our geographic footprint to be an even bigger advantage, we need to focus our energy and dollars on fewer countries."

Did this company spokesperson just pass first year business writing? It's like the writing prompt was, "Your company is downsizing, what is the most absurd way you can describe it?" I couldn't help but laugh at the sentence.

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#39

Post by rprospero »

confluence wrote: post #6

That's a long fall from Google practically begging them to take fat stacks of cash.

I remember, back during their heyday, listening to pundits discuss how Groupon was going to run Google out of business if Google couldn't find a better way to offer daily deals. I regularly saw people mentioning Groupon in the same breath as Amazon and Apple when speaking of tech giants.

Re: Groupon Is Laying Off 1,100, Shutters Operations in 7 Countries

#40

Post by mikepurvis »

josefresco wrote: post #19
bane wrote: post #16

I'll be honest, I know Groupon and its ilk are terrible business, but as a user of the service I've had lots of fun exploring activities and restaurants that I literally would never have bothered with or known about. In the last few weeks I've taken a Scuba lesson, a Horse Riding lesson, an intro to art class, found a couple new amazing sandwich shops. I took an amazing trip to Ireland for something like 50% off the…

Lots of things might be great for consumers, but for businesses it just doesn't make sense. Besides what I've read, I've heard from business owners/clients who try "group" discount services, but walk away feeling that it did little to help their customer growth long term. Would you be willing to pay more for those same experiences?

It always seemed strange to me that the coupons were essentially "get a $30 gift card for $15, to use whenever", when it seems like a lot of the deals could actually be good for both parties if structured more rigidly.

For example, selling a $5 cinema pass for a specific day, time, and show. So they book the whole screening room, sell exactly as many passes as there are seats, pack the house, and hand you your popcorn on the way in. Similarly with restaurants, where the whole venue could be booked out, and there's only two meals available (kind of like Summerlicious).

You're definitely not getting the regular-experience-but-cheaper doing that, so there's maybe a better chance of converting to try it out after the coupon, but even if you're only ever going to do it on the coupon, you can do it over and over again if it's good for both parties. If Groupon's marketing muscle can pack the house with cheapskates a few Tuesday nights per month, that's probably an all-around win.

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