Groupon is in the process of creating a new application that it hopes will change when and how society chooses to eat, shop, and play.
The new application, Groupon Now, will stray away from its current deal-a-day business model and adopt a quicker, more “Now” strategy. When the Groupon Now app is opened, two buttons will be presented: “I’m hungry” and “I’m bored.” Touching either button will open a list of local daily deals based on location. Groupon Now is looking to satisfy people at the time they want to be satisfied.
The concept of getting $30 worth of merchandise for only $15 is still the same. However, instead of one-time daily offers, Groupon Now is allowing businesses to choose when and where these deals are available for extended periods of time. For example, if a restaurant is extremely busy on the weekends but has very slow Tuesdays, the restaurant can now offer a Tuesday-only discount to increase traffic during its slow hours.
Through time specific coupons, local businesses will have an easy way to “manage their perishable inventory, especially labor and food.” Groupon Now can be a best friend for many local businesses who don’t want to waste resources during slow times of the day.
Groupon founder and CEO Andrew Mason says, “For merchants, the daily deal is like teeth whitening, and Groupon Now is like brushing your teeth. It can be an everyday thing to keep your business going.”
The huge daily deals company has been the fastest growing company in history but, many competitors are nipping at the heels trying to occupymarket share. Its major competitor is LivingSocial but it seems Facebook is also on the move.
This new version of Groupon seems to be the way of the future. The companies employees are already calling the old version “Groupon 1.0.” Groupon has approximately 70+ subscribers and is continuing to grow. The race for social media couponing is on!
