When they first emerged onto the discount shopping scene, group-buying sites like Groupon offered discount coupons for a range of merchandise and service with one main caveat: The discounts would only be valid if a specified minimum number of customers agreed to the deal. Now that the masses have jumped onto the group-buying bandwagon, these sites rarely have trouble reaching any minimum requirements, and instead the businesses offering coupons are most definitely interested in setting maximums for the number of consumers signing on for deals.
Not only has the website been profitable since June, but Groupon—which announces specially discounted daily offers on everything from massages to bike tours in certain U.S. cities—has raised $30 million and wants to expand its bulk-buying collective to 50 more cities next year.
“Collective Buying Power” is the apt slogan of Groupon, a rapidly-expanding bulk-buying website in which members get big discounts on everything from yoga classes to pro baseball tickets to teeth-whitening services to live lobsters—so long as a certain number of members sign up for the offer.
