Category Archives: groupon

Groupon deal performance: down and to the right

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

This is another graph that caught my eye from the study posted by Harvard and Boston University researchers: This bears out what I’ve been hearing from Groupon insiders. In the latest amendment to the S-1, Groupon also reported that its … Continue reading →

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Why running a Groupon can destroy your Yelp ratings

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

A recent study by researchers at Harvard and Boston University confirm statistically something that I’ve long suspected: Running a Groupon can destroy your Yelp ratings. I generally recommend that restaurants and service businesses avoid running Groupons because the short-term economics … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 8 Comments

Groupon’s newest class action and what’s going on in Groupon sales org

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

A purported class-action lawsuit filed last month by former Groupon employee Ranita Dailey accuses the couponing giant of underpaying overtime for sales employees. The suit alleges that Groupon required non-exempt sales employees to work overtime and then incorrectly calculated the … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 3 Comments

Why Google’s acquisition of Zagat matters

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Today, Google announced its acquisition of Zagat, the company that publishes the venerable restaurant and hotel review guides. It’s a terrific acquisition. If Google executes correctly, this deal could be as significant as the YouTube deal has been. (I was … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, foursquare, google, groupon, yelp | 1 Comment

My policy on anonymous sources

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’m wrapping up a successful trip to Chicago where I had the opportunity to meet with Groupon PR and several Groupon insiders, talk with merchants and experiment with Groupon Now in a market where the product has sufficient density for … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 1 Comment

There are only two deal companies that matter: Facebook and Google

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Much has been made of Facebook’s decision last week to exit the daily deals space. Yesterday, Yelp told Bloomberg’s Doug MacMillan that it is also exiting the daily deals space. A lot of the analysis has used these examples to … Continue reading →

Posted in facebook, google, groupon | 7 Comments

An open letter to Andrew Mason: You’re wrong

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Dear Andrew, I must admit I was surprised to read your email to employees yesterday. I say this because I’ve reached out to your PR team in the course of covering Groupon and they’ve often used the excuse that you’re … Continue reading →

Posted in groupon | 4 Comments

Roundup of my Groupon and daily deals coverage

Posted on August 20, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

If you have experiences — good or bad — that you’d like to share, email dailydeals@agrawals.org. I also maintain a companion blog focused on sharing Groupon, LivingSocial and other deal experiences. Start here Why Groupon Is Poised For Collapse Deal-a-day … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon, livingsocial | 14 Comments

The terrible numbers that Groupon doesn’t want you to focus on

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Note: If you have Groupon or other daily deal experiences to share, please email dailydeals@agrawals.org. Even in its revised S-1 issued last week, Andrew Mason’s letter directs potential shareholders to three key metrics: gross profit, free cash flow, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in groupon | 26 Comments

Comments from an Australian daily deals site that pivoted

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Rakesh Agrawal

Here is an email exchange I had with an Australian deals site that pivoted away from the daily deals model. Note that, as I’ve said in the past, an upfront payment model encourages fraud from merchants who take the money … Continue reading →

Posted in daily deals, groupon | 1 Comment