Someone complained when I made the comment that shoppers may tire quickly of Groupon’s daily deals now that the initial buzz has worn off. My point what that when Groupon started the idea of a sky diving lessons or massages for low prices was compelling because those were things that many people wanted to do but never really got around to doing. After a while, however, the people who did want those things have already done them and the subsequent offers for salon services or thrill rides would eventually become boring and then eye roll material.
The complain was that it wasn’t fair to characterize Groupon’s deal of the day offers in this manner. The suggestion was that Groupon offers aren’t really like that anymore and that while there is an occasional skydiving lesson or massage in the mix that Groupon has diversified into many other areas.
In an effort to be fair, I went into the inbox of the email account I use to sign up for things online. Like many people, I use this account when a company insists that I give them an email address to use their service, but from whom I don’t really want to actually be getting emails on a regular basis. That way, I can go check that email account when I hear about a good deal or am curious, but I can just ignore it the rest of the time. I’m not the only one who does that, which does call into question how valuable all of those so-called “registered users” on Groupon might actually be worth.
However, that is not why we gather today. Today, we look at what kind of daily deal offers Groupon offers up currently, thanks to the long list of undeleted (unread) emails in my shopping/rewards email inbox.
These are the deals for the Denver area. That is where I live and where I signed up to get deals. Ironically, it makes for a pretty solid test case. Denver is major city, but not one of the biggest. It typifies the kind of market that supposedly makes Groupon so hard to replicate because it is far away from both coasts and other big cities, so if you want to sell local here, you have to deliberately make the effort to but boots on the ground (or calls on the phone) in an area that can’t just be gathered under the wing of the sales force from a nearby area.
The groups are pretty self explanatory.
- Gym = Memberships, fitness classes, and personal training
- Nails = Manicures and Pedicures
- Hair = Haircuts, laser hair treatments, and waxing
What Kinds of Groupon Deals Are There Currently
- 1/20/11 – Restaurant
- 1/19/11 – Dentist
- 1/18/11 – Car Wash
- 1/17/11 – Symphony Ticket
- 1/16/11 – Restaurant
- 1/15/11 – Gym
- 1/14/11 – Hair
- 1/13/11 – Boat Show Ticket
- 1/12/11 – Restaurant
- I don’t have my emails for 1/4/11 to 1/11/11 – Apparently, I did delete some 🙂
- 1/3/11 – Nails
- 1/2/11 – Restaurant
- 1/1/11 – Hair
- 12/31/10 – Yoga
- 12/30/10 – Coffee
- 12/29/10 – Hair
- 12/28/10 – Restaurant
- 12/27/10 – Poster
- 12/26/10 – Photos
- 12/25/10 – Stock Show Ticket
- 12/24/10 – Tanning
- 12/23/10 – Restaurant
- 12/22/10 – Gym
- 12/21/10 – Restaurant
- 12/20/10 – Knitting Class
- 12/19/10 – Gym
- 12/18/10 – Restaurant
- 12/17/10 – Teeth Whitening
- 12/16/10 – Restaurant
- 12/15/10 – Paintball
I have a lot more, and based on scanning subject lines, there are no skydiving lessons to be found. In fact, the number one category is restaurants, followed by some form of hair, nails, or tanning. Maybe it is diversifying.
Do you thing Groupon offers a variety of deals in your area? Does it feel like something is offered a lot? Too often? Let us know.