First it was Groupon, Living Social, Deal Chicken. Now, I’m seeing other deal websites pop up like weeds. Recently, I’ve discovered Home Run, DealFind, and Amazon Local.
Except for Amazon Local, these new websites don’t have the reach to the number of businesses and offers that Groupon and Living Social do. DealFind also seems to be more focused on odd services that I don’t see much on the larger deal sites. Some recent services that I’ve seen on DealFind include guitar lessons, slimming body wraps, and custom website design services.
Home Run often has discounts on packaged goods and retail products from online merchants instead of just local businesses.
My opinion and analysis of these deal sites hasn’t changed. I still believe they’re great for consumers and terrible for businesses. The rapid growth of these sites will dilute the product for the consumer.
I’ve noticed that finding really good deals on any one site is difficult. They are sprouting up like weeds and inundating businesses with opportunities to promote their products & services, so the consumer has to shop a variety of these sites to find the deals they’re looking for.
I subscribe to these deal sites to keep tabs on what’s going on within the area I live in or travel to often. I enjoy purchasing offers from the site and it has saved me a lot of money. However, I rarely return to a business and pay full price. Why should I when there are tons of deals to be had?
If you’re a business owner who has used these deal sites, I’d be curious to hear your perspective.
Peter's Perspective 