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Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

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Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#31

Post by dodo53 »

seanos wrote: post #26
gojomo wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Groupon is headed this way with GrouponNow: "Introducing Groupon Now: Real-time deals that attract customers exactly when you need them." http://www.groupon.com/merchants/welcome

Interesting. Still, the realtime location data Loopt have would make this much more effective. People might not want to travel to a realtime deal running somewhere in their city, in case it ends before they arrive. But if the deal is running at a bar next door or on the street they are walking along then that problem is eliminated.

How about combine this with book-in-advance? So say you get $20 of pizza for $10, coupon website actually runs the payment system - takes payment of $10 in advance, and then you show up to get your deal. Then limited-capacity places could do realtime deals available to limited number of people to reach but not exceed their capacity, and bargain-hunters would be sure they'd get their deal and not show up somewhere that just became full.

Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#32

Post by mistermann »

khill wrote: post #29
seanos wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a much better idea. Instead of daily deals, realtime deals. Let the business offer a limited time deal (30mins, 1hr, or until they cancel). For example, an empty restaurant or bar could post a 50% discount for customers placing orders in the next 30 mins - not only giving their staff something to do but a busier restaurant/bar gives social proof attracting further customers later once the deal expires. Would…

Why wouldn't a business just use Twitter or Facebook for announcing a realtime, short-term deal like that? I follow most of my local businesses for that reason - many of them already tweet about on-the-spot deals which works the same way. Plus, it's an incentive for customers to follow their social media accounts which also helps with other types of advertising and promotion.

I never look at my twitter, but I've been known to stop in for one drink and stay for 10!! ;)

Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#33

Post by geofflewis »

sama wrote: post #4
dot wrote: post #2

sounds like a good idea in theory, but the reason some businesses tend to like groupon is that it brings NEW customers in the door. it's a marketing platform and businesses know that can be expensive. 50% is a lot to pay for a customer rewards program.

our hope here is that this will bring a higher quality set of new customers in the door. word of mouth referrals tend to be pretty good. if i create a deal at a place and share it with my friends to get critical mass, that may be a better crowd that a daily deal email list.

But given a deal is contingent on your salesforce convincing the merchant to work with you (on a very tight timeframe / compressed sales cycle), doesn't this mean that by definition, most of the deals desired by users will not come to fruition? Won't this result in a poor experience for the majority of users?

Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#37

Post by dusklight »

nhashem wrote: post #9

While it's a theoretically cool concept, the actual implementation doesn't appeal that much to me as a consumer and I'm not sure it'll really appeal to businesses. Would I want to get $20 at a nearby pizza place for $10? Sure. But how useful is it if I have to wait an indeterminate amount of time (if ever) to get the deal? I'm likely to only suggest local businesses that I frequent a lot anyway, and how useful is it…

How's this. I want to buy a new graphics card. It retails for $200. I offer to buy it for $150, the store makes a smaller margin but still profits.

You might not wait a long time to get a pizza but would be willing to wait a few days to see if you can get the new cellphone or laptop at a cheaper price?

Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#38

Post by sliverstorm »

nhashem wrote: post #9

While it's a theoretically cool concept, the actual implementation doesn't appeal that much to me as a consumer and I'm not sure it'll really appeal to businesses. Would I want to get $20 at a nearby pizza place for $10? Sure. But how useful is it if I have to wait an indeterminate amount of time (if ever) to get the deal? I'm likely to only suggest local businesses that I frequent a lot anyway, and how useful is it…

If there was enough activity, it could be fun. Imagine for example:

"Lunch today within 5 miles of X, for $8.75"

You could get a lot of variety in your lunches, and if you get tired of the food offered at $8.75, bump the number up or down to get different offers!

Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#39

Post by salman89 »

nhashem wrote: post #9

While it's a theoretically cool concept, the actual implementation doesn't appeal that much to me as a consumer and I'm not sure it'll really appeal to businesses. Would I want to get $20 at a nearby pizza place for $10? Sure. But how useful is it if I have to wait an indeterminate amount of time (if ever) to get the deal? I'm likely to only suggest local businesses that I frequent a lot anyway, and how useful is it…

Two ways to pivot with this that I can think of:

1) Flash sale deals - short term sales at businesses. 2) Better monitoring of demand so that prices can be intelligently adjusted. More like market research for businesses trying to figure out what the best price point is.

Re: Loopt Tries a Groupon in Reverse

#40

Post by americandesi333 »

The key here is timing. Its easier for Priceline to check on the bids with airlines because most of the airline systems support rapid data transfer. In the case of restaurants, it is difficult to predict and build a automated way to get 'approvals'. Therefore, the time it takes for them to get answer back from the restaurant will determine the success of uDeal.
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