The article highlighted the benefits of promoting the deals of the day for businesses....
1) Immediate visibility to a large audience that is motivated to buy
2) Burst of cash flow
Downfall of these deals:
1) Might be attracting the wrong crowd (poor tippers and no loyalty/repeat buyers)
2) "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" might be good for a business in the short-term for businesses with limited
financing options, but lost leaders are rarely winners for struggling businesses.
My prediction for these "deal of the day sites" like Groupon, Scoutmob,Grouptabs, etc.. .....and many more copycats coming on their heels.... the buyers who are attracted to these sites will have hundreds of options and sites that offer these. Loyalty to "the deal of the day sites" will be non-existent. There will be aggregators of deals of the day. Aggregators of aggregators of aggregators are coming where at the bottom of every email will promote a deal!!!!
Look no further than the tip offered by the writer of the article to businesses considering a "deal of the day". Break up the offer.... to essentially trick the buyer into loyalty/repeat visits or worse sell "unpopular items or underused services". Crap is crap and will always be crap...... even if it is 60% off.
