Forbes recently named Groupon the fastest growing company, ever. We had heard rumors circulating for months, but wanted to know if any were true, not to mention, we still weren’t quite sure what Groupon was.
Well, it definitely puts the power in the masses while reinventing the scope of online shopping. Collective buying power at its best. The website describes their hard bargain as, “Groupon negotiates huge discounts (usually 50-90% off) with popular businesses. We send the deal to thousands of subscribers in our free daily email, and we send the business a ton of new customers. That’s the Groupon magic.”
Well it does sound like magic, so we took it for a test drive.
We were allowed to personalize the daily deals that were sent to our email with a short survey including our age, gender and zipcode. Groupons ranged from spa days to edible arrangements to private cooking classes.
Groupon also gave us the brilliant idea of gifting these Groupon’s for the holidays. You can give someone a luxurious spa day for a fraction of the price.
All and all, while it does encourage you to spend more money on things you would normally never think you needed, you’ll also find deals that allow you to pamper yourself without a cent of guilt.
To sign up for the daily deal alert visit www.groupon.com
GroupOn is a really tempting idea. I heard an interesting report on it on NPR, however, that said the problem with GroupOn is that so many people buy these products that the lines are literally out the door. For example, a spa offers massages at a major discount, but it gets such a great response that you, as the massagee, has to wait a month and a half for your appointment.
But nothing’s perfect, right? Go forth and purchase!