Daily Deals Losing Their Luster

September 22, 2011

Here in Harrod’s Creek we experience deal fatigue. In addition to the Groupon and LivingSocial inducements, we have DealChicken. DealChicken is a local deal service operated for the Gannett Courier-Journal, a decidedly second rate daily news paper. If you are not familiar with DealChicken, you can get more information at—you guessed it—www.dealchicken.com.

Daily deals Web sites such as Groupon have had a lot of publicity lately. I noticed some chatter that Groupon was experiencing some cost inflation and customer push back. However, two large competitors have contrasting ideas about the future of the daily deals business. Facebook has recently pulled its Deals app, yet Amazon moves forward.

According to Lifehacker’s article, “Amazon Daily Deals Extend to eBooks” as well as CNET’s article, “AmazonLocal Deals in New York City,” Amazon has a few different tactics. AmazonLocal will be taking its deals to major US cities and Amazon will be offering a daily deal for Kindle users. We learn in the CNET article:

AmazonLocal, the online retail giant’s Groupon knockoff, is bringing its deals to the Big Apple and several other cities. According to The New York Times, the daily deals from Amazon will begin tomorrow in Manhattan and Brooklyn…The Associated Press is reporting that AmazonLocal will be operating in 30 locations in 10 states by early September [2011].

Were it not for Facebook’s withdrawal from the daily deals trend after only four months on the market, I would be convinced this was an idea with staying power. Is this a sign of deal overload or coupon fatigue? Searching for deals is a hassle in my opinion. Are consumers finding deals an annoyance? Are some businesses learning that deals can be expensive exercises in learning that few deal takers become regulars?

Searching for deals is a problem. Aggregators like Alltop provide a “dashboard” page of deals, but the entire experience of locating a coupon, a code, or a specific deal can be time consuming and frustrating. Digital deals rolling down the marketing assembly line seem to be losing their luster.

Andrea Hayden, September 22, 2011

Sponsored by Pandia.com

Comments

2 Responses to “Daily Deals Losing Their Luster”

  1. ashton on September 22nd, 2011 12:20 pm

    I can’t take the time to check every daily deal site like groupon and living social, so I stick to just using Citymaps for what I need. It is an interactive map that is always being updated, so I know if a bar near my work is offering a happy hour special or if my favorite boutique is having a sale. I love it and can’t wait for it to expand outside of Manhattan and Brooklyn!

  2. Amazon Local Enters Coupon Marketing Race « Pest Control Marketing & such… on October 7th, 2011 5:08 pm

    […] Daily Deals Losing Their Luster (arnoldit.com) […]

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