Tag: groupon

Mobile commerce strategy from Groupon now includes Ticket Monster

| November 12, 2013

This acquisition, which was for a reported $260 million, is an effort to expand in the Asian market.

Groupon has just announced its acquisition of Ticket Monster, along with its Q3 results for 2013, as a part of the reveal for its latest strategy for mobile commerce growth, particularly within the Asian marketplace.

They have purchased the company with its specialty in both local and travel offers in this region.

The purchase was for $260 million in both cash and stock. This helps Groupon to obtain a more solid mobile commerce foothold on the local and travel market in the Asian region. The Korea based online company also specializes in product offers. Ticket Monster was first launched in 2010 and its deal with Groupon is expected to close in the first half of next year.

At the moment, Ticket Monster Is owned by LivingSocial, but this mobile commerce deal will change that.

Mobile Commerce - Groupon Aquires Ticket MonsterTicket Monster has experienced year on year billings growth that has been steady and consistent, as its annual figures have come in at $800 million. It was the mobile commerce success, however, that caught the eye of Groupon and that drew it for purchase. The reason is that more than half of the Asian company’s purchases originate from smartphones or tablets. The company currently boasts over 1,000 employees and has over 4 million active customers.

This mobile commerce deal has arrived just as the Q3 financial data was released by Groupon. Its daily deals service during the period that ended on September 30 raked in a record nine million downloads of its app, bringing its overall total to 60 million. This has also helped to contribute to the fact that over half of the sales made in North America are completed by way of smartphones and tablets.

Moreover, mobile commerce at Groupon makes up 40 percent of its total global processed sales. Its active consumers showed a year over year rise by 10 percent, reaching 43.5 million, total. Clearly, this channel has become exceptionally important to the company and it is aiming at progressing in that direction with this latest acquisition.

Geolocation technology focus taken by latest Groupon app

| November 7, 2013

The company is refocusing both its application and mobile site on search, personalization, and local.

Although Groupon has been very successful in mobile, it has been struggling since it became a publicly traded company and has been working to overcome those challenges through the use of geolocation technology and other mobile friendly techniques.

Since the CEO of the company, Andrew Mason, was sent packing, the company’s revenue has declined.

In fact, since that time, there has been a steady reduction in the daily deal site’s income. This has occurred as consumers seem to be growing immune to the emails of flash sales, either shying away from them or completely ignoring them. However, the current CEO, Eric Lefkofsky, has a new strategy in mind, which includes everything from geolocation technology to a highly personalized consumer experience.

Geolocation technology has become increasingly important in the mobile marketing environment.

Geolocation Technology - Groupon appBoth the mobile website and the app have now been changed at Groupon with a considerable shift in their focus. They are now aiming directly at the places in which people actually look for their deals. Therefore, there has been a considerable swing toward personalization, geolocation technology, and search. These redesigns appear to make a great deal of sense and could make all the difference in turning the company’s revenue trend around, to an upward direction.

In fact, the geolocation technology based “Local Explorer” feature has opened up a number of new opportunities as it automatically pops up content within the user’s current city. This was once served only with a “nearby” tag. Now, it detects the user’s location and alters the background, sending targeted deals by way of push notifications, as well. These provide users with reminders of the existence of the app while they’re on vacation or travelling; times in which they are most likely to want discounts in places such as restaurants.

Moreover, beyond geolocation technology, there is also now a search bar at the top of all of the mobile screens, which place a greater focus on searching, which has never been there, before. Along with the personalized greetings and deals, this suggests a considerably enhanced experience for the customer.