Today Groupon reveals its transition from a daily deals platform to a true online marketplace with the transformation of its New Zealand website and app.
The new marketplace will enable Kiwis to explore the thousands of deals on offer in a more efficient and personalised way, according to the company.
The Washington Post reported in September that the company started by offering subscribers heavy discounts at businesses and typically took a cut of the deals sold. “At first businesses flocked to them and a crowd of similar services cropped up,” it said.
“But then some businesses, especially restaurants, began complaining that offering deals through Groupon ended up costing them money. Regular customers would show up with coupons in hand. New customers would spend the bare minimum and did not turn into repeat business.
“Customers, too, seemed tired by the sheer volume of emails from the daily deal industry. Services aimed at helping people unsubscribe from them even popped up.”
Now Groupon has reported that its homepage has had a full facelift and features a selection of top offers set against a redesigned black and white background rather than one “daily deal” in the usual signature green colour. There are also new intelligent search and browse features, curated deal collections, a prominent image carousel and a host of other intuitive features.
Groupon NZ CEO, Alistair Venn, said: “We want to inspire our customers and ensure they can find exactly what they’re looking for, as well as have an exceptional experience every time they shop with us. The updates to our website and app not only make it easier for users to navigate our vast array of deals, but merchants can now connect with customers in a more engaging and targeted way.
“This is the biggest and boldest change Groupon has made since landing in NZ in 2011 and reflects our dynamic growth both nationally and on a global scale. With these faster and more intuitive ways to explore and buy deals, it is now easier than ever for our millions of customers to search thousands of live deals every day for the perfect local experience, holiday or product.
“As part of the transformation, Groupon customers can now enjoy improved search and browsing filters, personalised and curated deal collections, a new image carousel, a reservation tool, cashless payments and paperless redemption, and enhanced search and personalisation on the app.”
The new Groupon app functionality enables users to view all deals within their local proximity; whether in their own neighbourhood or a city they are visiting. Many of the updates reflect the same enhancements as the site, including greater deal personalisation and improved search capabilities, all of which allow customers to connect with merchants in real time and enjoy instant purchases, bookings and redemption.
This follows news in September that Groupon, which was initially seen as an innovation in local commerce, was battling a contraction of daily deal sites, axing 1100 people worldwide (10 per cent of its workforce), and closing operations in six countries, namely Morocco, Panama, The Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Uruguay, and Puerto Rico after withdrawing from Greece and Turkey and selling a controlling stake of its India unit to venture capital firm, Sequoia.
The company’s blog post at the time said that it saw that the investment required to bring its technology, tools and marketplace to every one of its 40 plus countries was not commensurate with the return.
With restructuring costs anticipated, the company’s stock fell yet again in September after having lost half its value in the year to date.
