I wanted to be part of the Daily Deal bandwagon. I get Groupon, Living Social, Google offers; I get the Yelp deals, and Yipit. Like so many others I have heard, the offers don’t seem to be that enticing. Spa treatments? Messages? Dental Implants, Eye surgery? These were some of the most often seen specials in my in box. By nature, I am not an impulse buyer, but even if I were, these are not the types of things I just jump to.
Lately the offers have move more toward the food side (more my style)… Indian cuisine, Italian and sushi seem to be the most favored by the daily deal sites. But, not one of these has been within 20 miles of my home. I plotted it on Google Maps… 20 miles. For every one of these offers 20+ miles away, I have 2-5 businesses within a mile or two of my home. $8 off, $10 off? The traffic in the Chicago market is too much to drive 20 miles for $8. Even though the food looks good, the distance isn’t going to cut it.
At what point will the daily deal sites run out of runway? From businesses that can’t afford to continue to drive one-time buyers, to consumer who are done with sushi deals, I have a hard time seeing the viability of the current daily deal format. Sure, you may have some die hard deal seekers, but the sustainable mass is going to wane. Eventually, they are going to have to get smarter.
I see a time when the daily deal sites employ better technology to target the offers locally, not 20 miles away; when the offers are based on my habits, not some business’s desire to send me specials. I believe the programs will be geared toward developing a lasting relationship between local businesses and customers. I believe we will want what we receive, even if it is not what we were thinking. I believe… in Utopia.