There is an inherent problem with the “daily deals” concept. At what point does saving money on items get trumped by buying too many items that we don’t need? The lure of getting a killer deal on something is too strong for many to fight, but is it really saving if we end up buying more things that we normally would never had purchased if they weren’t on sale. Sites like Groupon and LivingSocial will likely remain popular for at least a couple of years, but the real winners in this industry will be the niche markets. Those who can stay focused and attract a smaller but passionate following are the ones that…

One might argue that the concepts of “flash sales” and “daily deals” are very new concepts, but they have been working well for over a decade online. The recent attention is based on the incredible influx of users that has turned the retail cottage industry into a mega-business model of its own. Sites like Groupon and Living Social have been making the biggest splash in the last couple of years. The concept of short-term, group buying deal making is translating into niche industries such as Mighty Deals for web professionals and Dealers United for car dealers. In this infographic, we explore the…

The only thing certain about the future of daily deals is that the industry’s future is uncertain. It’s not a play on words or a failed attempt at sounding clever. If you ask 10 people where daily deals will be a year from now, you’ll probably get 10 completely different responses. The truth is, nobody knows for sure. We know that Wall Street isn’t treating Groupon well right now. We know that LivingSocial is looking as strong today as Groupon did a year ago after announcing a national deal with McDonald’s. We know that fortunes in the daily deals industry can turn on a dime. We also know that users are…

There is much truth in Ben Parr’s Mashable story about the end of the “Daily Deals Era”. The end of Facebook Deals last week was viewed as a benefit for sites that specialize in the arena such as Groupon and Living Social, but now it might have sparked another question: what did Facebook learn that made them pull out so quickly? The concept is a brilliant one. Connect businesses and individuals in a way that is beneficial to both by applying the rise of social media into a bulk-buying arena. The concept was strong but there was one major flaw – the hype machine can only cover up the truth for so long. Many…

The easiest way to get people to use a service is to save them money. That fact has been the catalyst for the tremendous growth of Daily Deals group buying companies like Living Social and Groupon over the last couple of years. Will it continue to be hot the way that other aspects of social networking have or will it die as quickly as tie dye? That’s the question that the folks over at GPlus tackled with the infographic below. In it, they take a look at these and other sites, comparing how large they’ve grown both online and through physical presence and try to determine what the future holds for this type…