How daily deals websites have become the future of shopping
Surprisingly there are many "industry experts" who think that daily deals websites are a passing fad. They also call it the proverbial "bubble" after the phenomenal multibillion-dollar evaluation of Groupon.com and Google's desperate attempt at purchasing it. But is it really so? Hardly. As long as there are profit-making e-commerce websites thriving on the Internet there are going to be daily deals websites now that they are here. In fact daily deals websites are the future of shopping, especially online shopping.
Daily deals websites are a vibrant platform for merchants as well as customers and clients. And unlike the bubble-type business models that go bust simply because they have no valid reason to exist daily deals websites really deliver value to all the three parties viz., merchants, buyers and daily deals websites owners. All three are very crucial to the success of any online business model and deals websites create a win-win situation for everybody involved.
Why daily deals websites are the future of online shopping
Here are a few reasons why daily deals websites are the future of online shopping:
• The consumer side advantage: Daily deals websites basically empower the customer, or the consumer. Until now the consumer was at a great disadvantage because he or she had no means to quickly compare prices or collaborate with other consumers in order to get better deals. They had to rely upon advertising and promotional campaigns run by the businesses themselves. Social media and other Internet-based tools have brought consumers together. They can immediately share their thoughts on particular products and services and pass on better bargains and discounts to each other, as and when available. Products and services are sold by recommendations and testimonials more and less by unidirectional advertising. Customers and consumers can now come together and decide what they want to pay for particular products and services. And when there is a consensus there is always some business ready to comply with it, whether other businesses like it or not.
• The merchant side advantage: Through daily deals websites merchants can immediately gain traction and promote their products and services, almost free of cost. Most of the discounts and rebates are basically the margins these businesses make when they get new business. By simply deducting those margins they can offer their products and services without incurring extra costs and at the same time get new customers and clients. In the times of word of mouth advertising it matters a lot how many people use your products and services and what they think of them. They know that once they use their products and services they are certainly going to talk about them on their social networking profiles, consequently bringing them more customers and clients.
• The website owner side advantage: This is very obvious – the more business happens on their website the more money they make. It is basically about the numbers and on the Internet, especially when we consider massive markets like India and China, the sky is the limit once you begin to tap into the market.
All these three factors are great sustaining forces and they are going to make sure that daily deals websites become the future of online shopping. Of course there are going to be some hits and misses but this happens in every business whether it is boom time time or bust time.
0
