What is Groupon and what is Group Buying?

Here is an explanation from CNN GO website:

Leading the rise of social group buying and deal-of-the-day sites worldwide is U.S.-based Groupon, which practically became a household name overnight. Now, here in Thailand, plenty of clones are starting to emerge to cater to the nation’s bargain hunters too.

With the market set to take off in a major way, we’ve put together a guide to the group-buying phenomenon and the sites that are leading the pack.

What is group buying?

The rise of group buying began with Amercian site Groupon, which promises to give its members “50 to 90 percent off the best stuff your city has to offer.”

The site, which has spawned an industry of related services, features a heavily discounted ‘deal of the day’ from partner companies that members can take advantage of.

The catch for Groupon members is that a deal is only authorized if a minimum number of members have committed to it. Here in Thailand, all of the Groupon-clones have abandoned this minimum interest policy and instead set a time limit for each deal.

Thailand lags behind many of its Southeast Asian neighbors — for example it’s still a long way from Singapore’s advanced group buying scene — though its daily deals are beginning to show potential.

In the coming posts we will introduce the Groupon-likes in Thailand. Stay tuned!