Groupon Fever Hits Pinoys
Groupons (group coupons) made waves in the US around this time (Nov) last year. The idea was to get big discounts from establishments by leveraging on group sales. Imagine offering to buy in bulk so you can get a discount. In this case, all of you online bargain hunters are united under the online seller to form part of a single group that can now collectively offer to purchase the product at a discounted rate.
Groupon.com probably started it all (I may be wrong) and owned the term “groupon.”
A couple of months ago, a site was shared to me - CashCashPinoy.com and it was exactly like Groupon.com. However, there is a difference in terms of the basic concept of the groupon. CashCashPinoy does not require a minimum number of purchases before a “deal is on.” In Groupon.com there is a target number of purchases before a deal becomes valid. This encourages people to share the deals to get more to buy and protects the interests of the establishments offering the discounts.
There’s also one more player in the Philippines. Buyanihan.com which is closer to the groupon mechanics.
Between the two local players, from what I’ve seen CashCashPinoy seems to be offering bigger bargains. In terms of Facebook fans, Buyanihan takes the lead. Ranking wise in Alexa goes to CashCashPinoy. Side by side, they both look like they’re using the same layout and software with different skin. Who copied who? Groupon should be flattered.
And thanks to Rezza for pointing out Ensogo.com.ph
Ensogo is number two in terms of facebook fans among all 3 local sites and comes second on Alexa ranking. Another interesting design element to point out aside from the layout would be the ‘rays’ background. Ha ha ha. Could this be a template?
At the end of the day, the consumer wins so it’s all good.
