While most have only heard of “social buying” in the last couple of years, it has actually been around since 2004 (an eternity in Internet time) with WOOT!. Larger sites like GroupOn and LivingSocial have dominated the segment since, but there are many others that revolve around the consumers who want the power of group buying that leverages the power of social media.

Our friends at Flowtown have put together the visual depiction of the time line and sizes of the various options for social buyers. As the segment grows and the popularity increases, what innovations will we see?