Research shows growing popularity of daily deals sites
New research has revealed that daily deals sites are gaining in popularity with online shoppers in the UK.
The latest Online Shopper Intelligence study from Kantar Media Compete showed that 65% of online shoppers engage with Daily Deals sites either by visiting the site directly or reading an email newsletter.
In addition, 68% of shoppers questioned said they agreed with the statement “I always look out for special offers” and nearly half (48%) said “they always use money off coupons and vouchers”.
With more media coverage than any other group buying site, but a lower ad spend, Groupon was shown to be the most popular site with 80% market share and 8.1 million monthly visitors. Kantar Media Audiences InfoSys+ data showed that advertising in the space kicked-off in June 2011, with ads seen over 15 million times. The biggest spender was KGB Deals with its ad being seen over 7 million times by individuals, followed by Wowcher (364,618), Living Social (312,140), Groupon (102,647) and Wahanda.com (35,61).
Groupon was followed in the shopper popularity stakes by LivingSocial.com and KGBDeals.co.uk (10% each).
However the survey found that only 37% of consumers who bought from these sites made a second purchase from the same supplier. John Thekanady, UK client services director at Kantar Media Compete explained: “It’s clear that group buying sites build awareness and encourage impulse purchase behaviour efficiently, but featured companies are failing to convert those shoppers into loyal customers – bringing into question the long term viability of these sites.
“With an expanding competitive set and talk of daily deals fatigue, group buying sites would be well advised to target their offerings to specific consumer segments to distinguish themselves and help advertisers reach a more engaged audience.”
