To say that the daily deal space is saturated is an understatement, by now you can find a deal deal site that will see just about anything “that is a commodity.” However Groupon, the site that started the whole daily deal phenomenon, it went public last year at $20 per share and this week has fallen to around $7 per share. In Canada there are well over 150 competitive sites all clogging consumers inboxes, with each offering such a similar offering that the differential is too slim for consumers to notice. Toronto-based DealTicker.com is looking to breathe some new life into the daily deal space. This week the company introduced their “Early Bird DealTicker” offer, where prices are set to go up at any given moment. DealTicker.com says they will bring a higher-quality product at deeply discounted price. Of course, these offers are available on a limited-time only basis and consumers are advised to take advantage early as prices may increase at any time.
Traditionally, daily deal websites have tried to position their offers at a price-point that is appealing to both the consumer and the merchant offering the products and/or services. In the newly introduced business model, DealTicker moves the price point away from the merchant’s comfort zone and into the consumer’s hands. This effectively creates a “buyer’s market” – but if consumers do not take advantage of the offer early, the price may increase, leaving only those who have already made a purchase with the benefits of a deeply discounted offer.
Will this be enough to more consumers shopping or has the daily deal spending spree ended for good?