I love a good deal. I bought a new used car because it was such a good deal. To good to pass up.
Lots of new deal sites are doing incredibly well. Raking in huge revenue growth because consumers love an offer that is so good. I was at Costco the other day and saw Johnny Walker Blue on sale for $150, plus a $25 coupon making it an incredible $125 for their top shelf blended scotch whiskey. I sent a message to two friends asking if they wanted me to pick it up for them. One said yes, the other had already seen the offer and passed, but it was so good, I stopped in Costco and sent text messages to my friends.
Today, I landed on Groupon for San Francisco and saw an offer for half off a massage at a swanky SF place. It made me think that the deal is now a commodity. If I don’t take this offer, I’ll find another one for the same thing soon. No urgency.
It turns out the deal on my car was a fair price. If I waited I could find it again. The deal on the scotch, yeah, that too will be back at Costco for $125. As a consumer getting overloaded with special deals removes the special part. Deal sites are doing that for me right now. It makes me wonder what the longevity of these business models will be. What does Groupon and Guilt Group look like three years from now?
