Yes, I'm a proud "groupie" of Groupon

     

      I'm sold.

      That's right. For the first time in my life, I've become a groupie, but not for some super popular rock band or outrageously talented singer. My obsession these days is with daily deal sites like Groupon, EverSave and DoubleTakeDeals, all e-commerce sites that offer interesting products, services, experiences and gastronomic indulgences for a rather impressive discount.

      Just like everyone else, I love a bargain and with the help of these websites, I've gone tubing with friends in the Delaware Water Gap; became a pinball wizard for two hours at a local Pinball Museum; feasted on ribs at the favorite local joint; had a great haircut and deep conditioning treatment at a trendy neighborhood salon and indulged in a mini shopping spree with my very willing teen at a local hobby shop, all for about half the price.

      Come to think of it, what better way for retailers and other service providers to attract customers than to drive traffic into the store with a great deal that benefits both the business and the consumer. Add to that, many of these sites encourage consumers to purchase a deal for a friend which translates into an easy way to reach out to a potential new customer with very little effort.

      With all this potential for new business, I couldn't help but wonder how toymakers might use these sites to their benefit. No doubt, the sites seem like a great place to showcase a new product, website or service and can even give a toymaker the opportunity to partner with a local or national chain on both driving consumers to the store for a special deal, while at the same time providing exposure for a new product, product extension or line of products.

      I don't know about you, but I've added checking out the latest deals to my daily routine (a few of my friends have also become groupies!)

      How do you think toymakers could use these sites? I'd love to hear your ideas and share them with our readership in an upcoming column.



Comments

[John C. Fusi]

Possibly as outlets to dispose of unplanned overages of domestic inventory. Of course, once such a sale is made, and becomes obvious to non-cutrate clients, sales thru normal clients at normal prices will become difficult to impossible. So, basically, use of channels of distribution such as these is probably limited to closeouts of fast fading SKUs.

[David Topham]

I remember when companies used to employ marketing principles to build the value of its brand. No one can win with the type of "marketing" that is predominant now which reinfoces to the consumer that price is the most important thing. Only a few companies, it seems, send the message: "our product is worth the price because it is higher quality or unique or special in some tangible way". If clothing is a comodity then how can Under Armor thrive by not discounting its products for example. I know we have a difficult economy, so do what you feel you have to. But don't fool yourself in thinking that you are employing any of the priciples you learned in Marketing 101. The value of a brand is shrinking in America and so are the containers of ice cream. Now you have to buy a store brand to get a half gallon. Which is the better value? I always chose the premium ones until it was a question. I would like to see more Madison Avenue and less Canal Street.

[Charles Hepperle]

After trying the various goods and services via the coupons at a big discount have you gone back to the same stores and paid full price for anything?

If your answer is "no" -- what value are the coupons to the retailer?