With consumer spending still in the doldrums, it’s hardly surprising retailers have been tempted by deal-of-the-day sites like Groupon, promising to transform footfall. So why are these hyper-portals falling out of favour?

Groupon et al have certainly been making the headlines recently, but increasingly for less-than-positive reasons. This is a shame, as such mass coupon portals are providing a glimpse into the future, promising time-sensitive, geographically specific offers pushed to consumers’ mobile phones.

Digital coupons though, are not a panacea for sluggish sales in a difficult economy. Used over-zealously and indiscriminately, they can create more problems than they solve - attracting unprofitable one-off sales and fickle customers.

It is this realisation that has caused use of mass-market deal sites to fall off in recent months, with Experian Hitwise reporting that Groupon’s site traffic has halved since July. Consumers, too, are becoming jaded. When Ocado recently pulled a voucher being run through Crowdity because demand far exceeded expectations, it left thousands disappointed.

New digital coupon technologies are exciting and compelling, but the risks need to be understood and managed. There is certainly no justification for exposing consumers to questionable terms and conditions, for offers to be limited to minute volumes, or for misleading headline prices.

It’s time for this new sector to catch its breath. The UK market still boasts some of the most sophisticated and successful coupon and voucher programmes in the world. But these promotions depend upon trust between consumer, merchant and coupon issuer. This trust is underpinned by intermediary agents, who ensure the system works for all parties.


Online voucher and coupon sites add an exciting spin to an established and much-valued marketing mechanism. It would be a great pity if deal-of-the-day sites created a bad reputation for all coupons just when digital coupons were about to come into their own.