Group shopping yesterday and today - what has changed?
Group purchases have both good and bad reputation. There is no doubt, however, that their glory days have passed and portals offering this type of services are forgotten. This does not mean, however, that they still do not have their supporters. It all depends on what we expect from the product, portal and the entrepreneur himself.
Some are more demanding customers, others will be satisfied with the service, which may not impress with its high quality, but is distinguished by its low price. It is similar with group purchases. A few years ago, they appeared on the e-commerce market and quickly won the favor of Internet users. The great boom in cheap shopping enjoyed the owners of portals and companies that gained great popularity thanks to them. For some time now, a decline in interest in these services has been observed. There were many factors for this - but let's start from the beginning.
Group shopping - a brief history
It all started in November 2008 with the Groupon portal, which is known today, which offers group shopping. The trend started in Chicago and spread very quickly beyond the borders of North America. He also made his way across the ocean to Europe and Asia.
At the beginning, the company had only a few employees and its first venture was a 50% discount coupon for pizza in a restaurant located in the same building as the company's headquarters. It was a "shot at 10", especially as there are plenty of fans of tasty pizza all over the world.
The coupons sold out like hot cakes, which caused a big surprise also among Groupon employees themselves. This started a wave of success for this initially small enterprise. It took 4 years for the portal to become one of the best on the market and to be followed by other group shopping websites, which, observing a successful company, began to follow its example. Local business has unexpectedly become an international company that offers its services in 48 countries.
However, if we take a closer look at the genesis of Groupon, we can see that it was not the first portal to be created based on the group purchasing scheme. A year earlier, Andrew Mason, the future founder of Groupon, created thepoint.com website. The portal made it possible to contact people in order to carry out collective actions. This greatly facilitated the achievement of the intended goals.
Thepoint.com allowed for the organization of various online campaigns, charity fundraisers, and also facilitated the organization of a party for friends. Users also used the portal to join groups and negotiate discounts and better prices in restaurants, bars and local hairdressers. Andrew Mason noticed the emerging trend and used it successfully. Groupon has started a wave of emerging group shopping portals. The interest grew, and the number of satisfied customers did not decrease ... until now.
Group purchases - glory years
Group purchases appeared in Poland in 2010. "The more, the cheaper" - this is the idea of websites operating on the basis of this scheme. Initially, there were thousands of supporters of rebates.
Groupon and similar portals were bursting at the seams. Waves of newsletters flooded electronic mailboxes, and pop-up banners with better and better offers took over the world of the Internet. 2011 is the peak of Groupon's popularity in Poland. There was no person who would not hear about this service at least once, and its users were constantly growing. It is no wonder when it comes to low prices and the ability to buy online without leaving your home.
Also companies that made their offer available on portals could count on increased profits and increased popularity. Even though they were selling for less, they were getting more. So the contentment was endless. The tourism industry played a very important role in group purchases. Most of the society is looking for interesting travel offers via the Internet. The founders of the portal also knew about it and by investing in this market as well, there could be no failure. Many people want to go on a dream vacation and thus be able to save money. It was like that a few years ago. Is the situation of group purchases similar today?
Group shopping nowadays
The world is changing, customers' needs and preferences are evolving, and group shopping portals have unfortunately stopped. Group purchases are used by fewer and fewer Internet users.
We cannot talk about their complete collapse, but if we look objectively at this area of e-commerce, we will notice that many significant portals no longer exist, or have turned into ordinary online stores or shopping clubs.
This was due to the lack of ideas for changes and innovative solutions, as well as decreasing customer confidence in not necessarily high-quality products. In Poland, a 15% decrease in interest in group purchases has been observed since 2012. Not only our country has such bad results in this area. Looking at Russia's statistics, the decline is even greater. Only Denmark can boast an upward trend. These results clearly show that group purchases are not as highly appreciated as they were years ago.
Group purchases - you have your rights
When using Groupon sites, be sure to read these terms and conditions carefully. Many customers do not know what their rights are and what they can do if a product fails to meet expectations.
Due to the lack of sufficient knowledge, we often purchase a discount coupon for the first and last time. Remember that:
- we have the right to return the coupon within 10 days if we have fallen victim to a dishonest seller,
- if we are not informed about the possibility of withdrawing from the contract, the date of returning the coupon is extended to 3 months,
- if the coupon is used, but the goods do not match its description, we can also return it within 10 days,
- in the case of services offered, for example, by a hairdresser, beauty salon or car repair shop, we may request a refund directly from the service provider, referring to the non-compliance of the service with the description on the portal.
