Why are Groupon and Living Social losing popularity?
Customers sent to businesses via daily deal sites are price buyers and not loyal customers. Once the rush of customers wears off, many businesses never see these people again. Deals can be used to increase awareness, but retaining customers is a different story. Another problem is anticipating demand. In the process, some businesses find themselves falling short and running out of product or time in order to handle the sudden surge of business due to the deals. In turn, this can create a lot of unsatisfied customers that will not only never come back, but be more likely to complain and give bad reviews if the product or service was lacking during the rush.
What is the business model that was tweaked to cater to demand instead of supply? We have done just that with our latest venture – MobOffer – Social Demand Aggregation
We created MobOffer as a platform to exhibit the power of group buying. Instead of determining daily deals like Groupon or Living Social, users decide which deals the site should offer. Using a convenient MobOffer button (like Pinterest), users can add products from any website to a MobOffer Wish List. Users can invite others to join a list and aggregate demand for requested items. Once the demand is large enough, MobOffer requests merchants to offer a deal as an opportunity to make greater short-term sales that they can prepare for.
Moboffer was developed in a distributed server cluster using PHP and mySQL. The Facebook app, with its clever open graph integrations, improves the virality of the offers and the items.
Know any products you would like a deal on? MobOffer was recently made live for you to install the button and try it now. Create your own wishlist and get started. Be sure to let me know your thoughts!