A customer at a Groupon Singapore concept store. Photo: Groupon
In Asia, the daily deals industry is apparently in the doldrums. In an analysis done by Groupon Singapore, only 19 group buying companies now remain, down from a peak of 72 in 2010 and 39 in 2011. 84% of these companies lasted less than a year.
SGE has even covered the demise of a couple of these websites: Outlet.com.sg and Mocca Perks.
The downward spiral in Singapore dovetails with the predominant trend in Asia and the world: Group buying sites are shutting down en masse. In the second half of 2011 alone, Daily Deals Media reported that 1,348 such companies have gone under. While some group buying sites have been acquired, they are in the minority.
Groupon’s share price, meanwhile, has tumbled to USD 5.25 per share on 6 October from a high of USD 31, despite a profitable quarter. Another American daily deals company, JigoCity (acquired by the owner of porn magazine Penthouse), is also finding the waters choppy in Asia: It recently left Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Australia.
But just like how the movie Rocky Balboa became a surprise hit in the face of doubts in 2006 — 16 years after the disappointing last film — Asia’s daily deals sites are reinventing themselves to stay in the fight. Read more
Filed under Mobile, Special Commentary, WebTags: daily deals, Disdus, E-Commerce, group buying, Groupon, groupon disdus, groupon indonesia, groupon singapore, Indonesia, m-commerce, Singapore
Groupon has today announced the official launch of the world’s first and only Groupon Shop, which will happen on 4th July.
The store had actually opened its doors on 30th April, according to ZDNet. It consists of three terminals where visitors can buy and redeem coupons on-the-spot.
Karl Chong, CEO of Groupon Singapore, told ZDNet that the objective of the opening ”was to make it more convenient for Groupon customers to redeem their products.” Read more
In a hyper-competitive, crowded group buying industry in Singapore and Asia, creating a mobile app is one sure way to stand out from the crowd.
AllDealsAsia, a Singapore-based group buying deals aggregator with a presence in Southeast Asia, has done just that (screenshots below). Read more
Today, Facebook is an essential tool in any marketer’s arsenal. Which is why we decided to feature a list of top 30 Facebook Pages by businesses. The brands in this continuously-updated list are ranked according to the number of ‘likes’ and must be either a) companies started in Singapore b) companies started by Singaporeans c) international brands with a Singapore Facebook Page. Read more
Filed under Marketing & Branding, Media, WebTags: arun shenoy, BigDeal.sg, channel 5, channel newsasia, cna, cold rock ice creamery, distexpress, electronic arts, Facebook, facebook page, famecount, Garena, Groupon, groupon singapore, guinness, KFC, kfc singapore, lamc productions, marina bay sands, Mediacorp, mediacorp channel 5, milo, milo singapore, mtv asia, NTUC, pizza hut, reebonz, resorts world at sentosa, samsung mobile, senatus, sephora, sg recruiters group, Singapore Airlines, sony ericssion, Sony Ericsson, SPH, starbucks, starbucks singapore, sticky, sticky singapore, straits times, subway, subway singapore, that's my fairprice, the straits times, tiger airways, tiger beer, top 30, Viki, xbox 360, Yahoo, yahoo! singapore
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