Groupon - Daily Candy meets Costco
Over the holidays I discovered Groupon, a website that features local daily deals. The trick is that you can't get the deal until a minimum number of users have agreed to purchase the item (think Daily Candy meets Costco, minus the membership).
Collective buying is nothing new, but I think Groupon has really hit the nail on the head for it's target market - me. Their demographic is young, educated professional women - some single, some married. It's a fun site and my girlfriends have all picked up on it, sending me updates via Facebook, Twitter and email to spread the word and help them get over the top on deals like wine tasting in SF, ski packages, restaurant gift cards, and manicures.
For local small businesses like restaurants, gyms, theaters, and salons, Groupon is the perfect avenue to kick start their 2010 sales. My first Groupon was for Dream Dinners, $45 for 6 meals which normally costs $110. I'm already a customer so it was a no brainer. The woman who owns the local franchise would have been ecstatic to sell 50, with the minimum set at 24, but she ended up selling 453 groupons!
