Have you heard about daily deal websites like Groupon (groupon.com) or LivingSocial (livingsocial.com) and assumed they cater exclusively to younger people? If so, you could be missing out on big savings. Perhaps paying $35 for a month of unlimited kickboxing classes isn’t up your alley, but how would you like to snag a trip for two for five-nights to Noumea for less than $1,500?
Daily deal sites are becoming so pervasive that many companies you may already be familiar with are jumping on the bandwagon. Entertainment Publications (entertainment.com/discount), the company that sells the popular Entertainment Membership Books, recently launched a daily deal site. Brad Barnett, general manager of daily deals and gift certificates for entertainment.com.au encourages older shoppers to take a closer look at deal sites. Some newer entrants have continued to go after younger, single audiences, but other sites like ours play more to the audience they have always served, so deals are probably more appropriate to people who are older, Barnett says.
How does it work
Most sites follow a user-friendly format, you simply enter your email address and city and then you receive an email each day offering a discount for different merchants in your area. If you’re interested in that days deal, you purchase it, print a voucher, and use the coupon at your convenience. Or you can download the relevant app and forget about printing the voucher all together.
Daily deal site subscribers may find deep discounts, which could seem too good to be true. The site negotiates an excellent deal with the merchant and then offers the discount for a limited period of time. For the merchant, it really is a marketing push, so they offer a really good deal to get consumers in and hope for repeat business.
Exercise caution
Since there are new deal sites popping up every day, it is wise to exercise caution before subscribing. If a site only offers deals in one or two markets, it may pay to Google the company to see if it has received mainstream press or feedback from other users. Whatever site you’re using, if a deal seems too good to be true or is confusing, check it out before you click buy. Call the deal company and ask to speak to someone in the customer service or sales department, and also call the merchant directly and ask if the deal is legitimate.
1 Comment
Thank you for the sharing.Just wanted to add that as per the announcemen on their site, from next week Websst is going to have a new section for discounts, deals and new offers, similar to Groupon.Have you heard something about it?
Regards: Margaret J.