It’s official: Daily deals are unhip, and Groupon isn’t disruptive
Before Groupon filed to go public in June 2011, it lay claim to being the fastest-growing company ever. Its prospectus showed its revenue growing at a 1000-percent annual rate, in line with the growth of its gross billings, or the revenue Groupon collects before paying a share to merchants. But over the past five quarters, both figures have declined dramatically.
Groupon’s Stock Slide Worse Than Other Once-New Tech Companies | Wired
Groupon is all about discounts, but not this kind. The daily deal site’s shares plunged more than 25% to a record-low close Tuesday, little more than nine months since an IPO that valued the company at nearly $13 billion. The company’s stock price is off nearly 80% since then as investors flee a company they fear can’t sustain profits or growth—anxieties that Monday’s earnings report didn’t ease.
"I feel like clout is something that builds up on your teeth."
- Andrew Mason, CEO, Groupon | Is Groupon’s Bizarre CEO Ruining His IPO?
"In total, Groupon grew from 37 employees as of June 2009 to 9,625 employees as of June 2011."
- Groupon Lost More Than $100 Million Last Quarter – Again – As Hiring Costs Jump
Wetsuits “hug the body like affectionate otters.”
Groupon really has a way with words.
Infographic: Charting the Death of the Printed Coupon - The Atlantic
- In 1992, consumers saved $7.7 billion by using coupons. By 2006, that amount had fallen to $2.6 billion. That year, the numbers started to climb after falling for 14 years. In 2010, consumers saved $3.7 billion using coupons.
- Every hour spent couponing in 2011 is worth an estimated $100.
- More than 88 million adults in the United States will redeem an online coupon or code for use either online or offline at least once in 2011.
- While newspaper inserts are still the primary method of coupon distribution (89%) and redemption (53%), Internet redemption has skyrocketed, rising 263% in 2009.
- By 2013, 96.8 million adults in the United States will redeem an online coupon.
The Billion-Dollar Startup Club: Then And Now - Forbes
Key differences:
- Today’s billion dollar startups are much older than their Web 1.0 counterparts with a median age of 4.1 years, almost twice the age their bubble era counterparts were when they hit the billion-dollar milestone.
- Today’s crop of startups also create more jobs. They average 1,390 employees versus an average of 412 employees in the bubble.
- Today’s billion dollar companies have reaped more bloated valuations than their late 90s counterparts. Five of the ten companies in today’s billion-dollar club boast a valuation of $3 billion or more.
- Finally, rather than rely on organic growth, today’s startups tend to be more acquisitive than their bubble era counterparts.
