Groupon has been a sensational startup in 2010. The company has been in the limelight in the last quarter of 2010. Google made a bid to buy them out , but they refused Google’s Offer of $6billion. Since then Google has been hunting for another Groupon to buy. And if the purchase of another Groupon does not happen before the year ends, then watch out for these startups. Once of them maybe on the list of Google to add to the over 80 startups acquired already.
Groupon business model is daily deal + group buying/shopping + discount platform.There are businesses with similar concept but they may not be “clones”. Some have different niches and methods. Some may have been in existence earlier than Groupon.
Businesses with Group Buying concept:
1. Play @ savvy circle
2. BuyWithMe
3. Qponus
4. Deals.livingsocial
5. Sangabo
6. Ihergo, Taiwan’s version of Group Buying site. (you may use Google translator to view)
7. Pikaba
8. GotoGroupBuy
9. Let’s Groop
10. Gruuby
11. Pudgin
12. MyDala, India’s version.
13. PurchasingDept
14. Crowdsprout
15. GroupBuyingEdge
16. eWinWin
17. FoodBuy
18. Prime Advantage
19. Broadlane
20. The Buying Group
The big question is can these companies survive and which of them could Google Buy in 2011. There are hundreds out there in almost every continent. Add a group buying site you know which is not on this list.
Keep an eye out for http://www.42promos.com, a daily deal agregator currently flexing their agregator muscle mostly in Montreal and Toronto but planning to move to all areas soon.
Groupon and similar sites like LivingSocial and BuyWithMe are a very popular trend. We'll continue to see them cropping up all over the place. The big discounts they provide on products or services are good for consumers. A great way to find the best daily deals available in your area is by using http://www.shopway.com. It's much easier than checking all those emails or sites one by one.
I think india is a growing market for group buying.. we we need to keep watch on http://www.mydala.com. Because this site is doing gr8 work.
We're kind of fond of WordPress. So when we found limited versions we created our own. Not nearly as powerful as Groupon itself but none the less feature rich and profitable.
GroopOffers.com – albeit a late entrant is making waves in India. The philosophy seems to be simple, get a group and we'll get a better discount than them all. Focus is electronics, entertainment, food stuff & groceries (surprisingly), travel & properties. Seems to be worthy of tracking.
Not only these 20, many groupon clones( group-buying sites ) are introduced. I know one of them, which is offering discounts presently in Hyderabad. You may find that site here – http://dealdrums.com/.
Ummm… What about the Gorilla? Google Offers is the new division of Google that will compete in the daily deal space, and they are executing well, having learned from the big players mistakes. You'll see a consolidation of these new daily deal sites into a few big players (GroupOn, LivingSocial, Google Offers) as they are the only ones really capable of competing in the long term for business of the SMBs. The competition is already fierce, and the margins slimmer, and the less well known brands will simply not be able to compete with the national brands as SMBs will flock to the "sure-things", as only they can deliver their deals to robust lists of consumers. Everyone else will be fighting for the scraps, and only a few sites will survive.
You can try Couponic groupon clones at http://uniprogy.com