Analyzing the daily deals market has become industry fodder lately. Initially, the concept was new and fresh and we all basked in its take on collective buying. Since then, criticism over the actual benefit and possible toll on businesses that Groupon, LivingSocial, and their competition could be taking has been under heavy scrutiny.
One site that has avoided terribly intense examination is Google Offers. The site likely has its recent and initially limited launch to thank for this. Still, it hasn’t gone totally unanalyzed, and Yipit offered us some insight on the site’s performance. Full disclosure: Yipit is a direct Google Offers competitor that also offers curated coupons for your city of choice. But the site also serves as a data mine for daily deals information, and has become a go-to source for background on this emerging and increasingly controversial industry.
Yipit has some interesting things to say about Google Offers. According to its reports, Google Offers has seen declines in the last three months, which for a company that launched in June doesn’t exactly speak well of its future. Revenues dropped 23-percent in August as major competitors Groupon and LivingSocial both gained market share. But Yipit Data’s David Sinsky told us that there’s more than meets the eye to this supposed rough start.
“Google has a lot of advantages when it comes to this. They’ll be able to tie in other products and they’ve really just begun to do that,” Sinsky says. “You haven’t seen Google really step on the gas in terms of using all the tools they have.” He mentions that we will see properties like Google Maps and Wallet integrated with Google Offers, which is when Offers will hit its stride.
“A disappointing month won’t stop them. Google is thinking long term, and they were smart. They’re taking it very slowly so they can learn and find the right receipt for the product,” he says.
Google is a company that has the ability to take conceptual and financial risks. That said, there’s no denying it has some formidable competition in the daily deals market. Despite boosting the amount of offers, its revenue decreased and the number of deals sold still lags far behind Groupon and LivingSocial.
Google entered the daily deals game later than its top competition, however, and Sinsky also offers that managing a local salesforce isn’t something the company is used to doing. But every knock against it can’t overshadow the natural advantages it has. Sinsky explains that right now, less than one percent of its competitors are mobile based, and Android and Google Maps will give Offers a step up.
“They have an inherent advantage there with mobile and local commerce – Groupon and LivingSocial don’t have that.” He says the industry is going to increasingly turn to mobile platforms over the next few years and this will give Offers a several year opportunity as far as gaining market share.
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