The battle between Amazon, Google and Groupon has just gotten more intense with Amazon announcing that all its Kindle users who are able to receive advertisements on their reading devices. The advertisements will be for those with the discounted Kindle as well as Kindle 3G and will be for products or services such as retailers, spas, and restaurants among others. The Amazon Local feature will be launched in New York and then will spread to other local cities in the United States.
The advertisements by Amazon will be appear on the Kindle devices as screen savers when they are not being used for reading. Amazon sees the incorporation of Kindle into its daily deals strategy that they will be able to rise above its competitors in the competitive group buying industry. The use of Kindle is also a way for Amazon to be able to make it as convenient as possible for their customers to buy the deals as they do not need to re-enter the information about their credit card or account when making purchases.
When the Kindle user has decided to buy a daily deal from AmazonLocal deals they will receive their voucher on the home screen which can either be printed or shown at any Kindle store so as to redeem the voucher. Software updates of AmazonLocal deals will be able to be received on Kindle within a few weeks’ time.
The AmazonLocal daily deal buying website has seen a rise in the sale of Kindles because of the new features that have been added and also the fact that it is being sold at a discounted price. The AmazonLocal users are excited about the fact that they are able to go through the whole process of buying a voucher using their Kindle device.
Group buying sites which are commonly known as daily deal sites are becoming a phenomenon that is literally taking over the world. Its success has led to the setting up of similar sites in both developing and developed economies as a way of making customers aware of products or services that are offered by a number of businesses in their local area.
The concept of group buying which is relatively new in some countries and also not well understood in countries that have seen an upsurge in these sites needs to be addressed for the sake of new customers as well as entrepreneurs looking to invest into this industry.
Customers using this group buying sites like Spreets should be able to navigate through their preferred site when looking to purchase a deal. Majority of the daily deal sites encourage the signing up of members to their site so that they can receive e-mail alerts when a new deal is posted.
Daily deals can also be followed through social networks such as Facebook as well as Twitter. When a deal has been selected it is bought upfront from the company that deals in the discounted vouchers and the customer receives a voucher in their e-mail inbox which allows them to redeem the products or services that they have paid for.
The daily deal sites negotiate deals that are offered to customers at a discounted price that has been agreed on between them and the business that will be providing the goods or services. The main objective of these websites is that they are able to make a cut from the discount that they have negotiated, the customers enjoy a big discount on their preferred deal and for the business they have an increase in the customers who they hope to be repeat customers.
The college student demographic has always been a successful target for business that is looking for customers who can buy their products and services in large numbers. It is for this reason that companies like Campus Buddy has set up a new daily deals initiative known as College Budget in an attempt to sell daily deals to campuses all around the country.
This initiative is following the trend that many social networks like Facebook have used to launch and grow into powerhouses from the platform of college students as their first customers. College Budget is offering daily deals to students on different college campuses with an objective to lower the costs that they incur on campus. They also see it as an opportunity for students to save and channel their funds to other areas that might have otherwise suffered because of lack of finances.
To set up an account on this group buying site you must have an active ì.eduî e-mail address as it is only for college students. The products and services being offered to students will include textbooks, posters, phone cases and any other product that students need to make their college experience better.
The College Budget group buying site has advantages for both students as well as the merchants who provide the deals to the students. The college students will now have a place that they can buy the college related products at a subsidised price and enjoy discounts as well. The daily deals site does not charge any cost at the onset to the merchants when their deals are displayed on the website which is done by other group buying sites. The merchants will also have access to a large number of customers that they would not have been able to reach if it had not been for the College Budget daily deal site.
"Limit customers based on demographic criteria. (Of course, this isn’t in the deal company’s interests.)"
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How daily deal companies could improve the merchant experience — and why they won’t « reDesign
This is more of a “pull” than “push” since direct operators should ask upfront what categories of offers they’d like and where they’d like to receive them. I’m not sure if we’re at a point in the marketplace to offer complete segmentation based on race, gender, age, etc. relative to the merchant’s interests.
(via datainsightsideas)
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The group buying industry is basically changing the way businesses are marketing themselves to their customers. This has led to the setting up of over four hundred sites in the United States and even more all over the world. Nevertheless, industry experts are predicting a few changes in the daily deal business that will make it easier for customers to have access to these daily deals.
It is predicted that there will be mergers among some daily deals sites in a bid to improve their profitability and increase their customer base as well. Mergers or collaborations by daily deal websites will be seen mostly with sites such as Google, Amazon as well as Facebook.
These sites have already started offering deal offers on their sites that can be found with a simple search on the website. However, these mergers will be successful as long as the regular daily seal websites see it as another way of communicating to their customers beyond e-mail.
Making payments by credit card is also another change that is to be seen when buying daily deals. Credit companies like American express are partnering with daily deal websites as well as Facebook to allow customers to redeem their vouchers by credit cards in order to eliminate the need for printouts.
Brand loyalty is seen by experts is likely to see some changes as well because as it is now most daily sites do not have it as a priority. This change will be brought about by group buying sites creating an enhanced experience for both businesses as well as customers so as to have a constant supply of deals and repeat customers as well. These daily deals could either be having a site offering an exclusive deal to its customers or offering multiple products from one company at one go to build brand value.
So now Livingsocial are releasing an IPO also. Where would you put your cash?
- Groupon
- Livingsocial
- Zynga
Reblog and answer!
Yes, completely agree - while it’s not for every merchant, there are many that can still win from running a daily deal; especially when print advertising is overpriced and hard to monitor, and other online marketing is sometimes too difficult for small businesses.
anthonybullard:
Not to toot my own horn, but I reached many of the same conclusions. While Groupon may stumble at some point in the immediate future, the daily deals industry is a very strong force and with the appropriate adjustments made by a well-positioned player(s), it could challenge (or usurp) traditional print advertising. Valpak, you are officially on notice.
dailydealsblog:
Very interesting response to the group buying concerns circling the web at the moment.
Worth a read!
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