What next for the daily deals?
Unlike daily deal sites, it has the advantage of not forcing you to buy something before you get the discount – which means no wasted purchases – but the discounts are not as significant as those you might find on Livingsocial.comor Groupon.comfor example. It currently has some interesting offers, such as 20 per cent off your food bill at The Market Bar on Dublin’s Fade Street, or two for one on summer drinks at Insomnia, but its range of discounts is somewhat limited.
Another new possibility is DiscountCodes.ie, which partners with online retailers that ship to Ireland and allows you to use a discount code to get money off purchases you wish to make.
So, if you know that Superquinn, for example, has a discount code which it offers to new customers to get a €20 rebate on orders over €100, but you have forgotten it, then you can find it on this website and use it to redeem your discount. The website also offers discounts from international retailers such as American Apparel and Urban Outfitters, but again, the range could do with being broader.
Mobile technology
For daily deal sites, the next big move is into mobile technology. Already, most of the larger daily deal sites such as Living Social and Groupon have developed mobile applications, allowing users to download apps onto their mobile phones which enable them search offers. Megadeals is set to launch its app within the coming weeks.
Some providers believe purchases from mobile may be bigger than desktop/laptop within two years.
Mark Henderson, general manager of LivingSocial in Ireland agrees. “Twenty per cent of engagement with us is now done on mobiles,” he says.
In line with this trend, location-based deals are seen as the way forward. This means that if you are on Dublin’s Grafton Street, for example, and are looking for someplace to eat, you can search – or be emailed – deals available in the area.
In the US, Groupon has already launched its “Now” product, while LivingSocial has its “Instant” product. However, such initiatives have been met with a mixed response.
“The jury is still out on that, although it is an interesting development,” notes Shane Hayes, chief executive of marketing specialist sift.ie, pointing out that this concept involves those offering the deals – which are often small restaurants and beauty salons – posting them themselves.
“One of the issues they have with the Groupon Now concept is relying on a busy restaurant manager to put deals on and off,” he adds, noting that the beauty of the regular deal approach, is that the deal provider does all this work for the client.
