groupon

Deal sites have a rough year

Groupon, the company that made daily deals popular for consumers, has had a tough tumble. After finally going public late last year, the company faced massive competition, slowed growth in revenue and a decimated stock in 2012. In its early days, Groupon was a tech superstar, charging along on a mission to become the fastest-growing company in history. But as the months passed, the company was plagued by slumping stock, a shareholder lawsuit and the rumored unrest from employees trying to leave the company.

Much of the blame has fallen on the shoulders of CEO Andrew Mason, who once had … Read more

Groupon decides to keep Andrew Mason as CEO

Groupon said today it has no plans to replace CEO Andrew Mason after its board met to discuss whether senior management changes were necessary at the struggling daily deals company.

Unhappy with the Chicago-based company's plummeting stock value, Groupon's board of directors were reportedly looking to make leadership changes at the top, including the option of bringing in a more experienced CEO to replace Mason, one of the company's co-founders. After the meeting concluded, the company announced that Mason would remain as CEO.

"The board and the management team are focused on the performance of the … Read more

Groupon scores Major League Baseball partnership

Groupon announced a partnership with Major League Baseball today, promising discounted game tickets and exclusive perks for all 30 of the league's teams.

The multi-year agreement with MLB's media arm is good news for the daily deals company, which has had trouble convincing Wall Street of its worth. It's a big name for Groupon to add to GrouponLive, its local live entertainment offerings, and builds on Groupon's baseball game discounts offered during the regular 2012 season and the post season.

GrouponLive General Manager, Greg Rudin said fans can expect exclusive access, luxury seats, and clubhouse and … Read more

LivingSocial said to lay off nearly 10 percent of staff

Rumor has it that LivingSocial is planning to lay off up to 400 employees tomorrow, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Sources aware of the daily deals company's plans told the Journal that the layoffs will be in U.S. offices and will include various positions and markets. Currently, the company has around 4,500 employees, according to its website, so the layoffs would decrease its staff by nearly 10 percent.

LivingSocial has tried to branch into other markets this past year to make up for its financial woes, which equaled a net loss of $566 million in the … Read more

Groupon's Mason: Board is discussing if I should continue as CEO

Reports that Groupon's board members will in a meeting on Thursday discuss whether to begin searching for a new CEO appear to be true. In a conversation with Henry Blodget at the Business Insider Ignition conference, founder and CEO Andrew Mason said, "News flash: Our stock is down about 80 percent since the IPO...It would be weird if the board wasn't discussing if I were the right guy for the job. It would be more noteworthy if the board wasn't discussing whether I was the right guy for the job."

"As the founder … Read more

Yelp CEO: Yep, Google can be pretty evil

NEW YORK--Sure, Google can be pretty evil, Yelp Chief Executive Jeremy Stoppelman said.

Stoppelman, speaking here today at a Business Insider conference, responded to a question from Nicholas Carlson, Business Insider deputy editor, about whether Google is evil. While he didn't straight out call the larger company the devil, he did say that Google has some evil business practices, such as ranking its reviews higher than those from competitors like Yelp.

Stoppelman said that any disruptive businesses, like Uber and Airbnb, are guaranteed backlash, and government and business entities shouldn't necessarily be allowed to limit those businesses. However, … Read more

Groupon CEO in jeopardy of losing his job?

Update: 3:06 PM PT A couple of years ago, Andrew Mason had a chance to sell Groupon to Google for $6 billion but instead pressed ahead with the company's IPO. The insiders reaped a windfall but investors buying at retail must now feel like bag holders. Shares of Groupon finished today at $3.96, down from their 52-week high of $25.84.

As the stock fell, questions about Mason's stewardship have multiplied and now there's a new report that his tenue may be in jeopardy. With the company's board of directors meeting this week, All … Read more

So where will people shop today that isn't Amazon?

Today is expected to be one of the biggest days ever for online shopping, but where will people be making some of their purchases may be surprising.

According to Deepfield, which provides technology to track and analyze network performance, some of the top Internet retailers are the usual suspects, like Amazon, while some others, such as Shopify, are more unexpected.

The company conducted a large-scale study of online shopping infrastructure over the past several months, using data from its ongoing study of Internet backbone traffic.

What it has found is that Amazon, of course, dominates Internet retail. About 14 percent … Read more

Shoppers turn to retailers for mobile coupon deals

Most thrifty spenders are still turning to retailer sites and not coupon sites when it comes to getting mobile coupons, according to a Nielsen study released today.

Fifty-four percent of U.S. consumers who use their mobile phone or tablet to shop turn to retailer Web sites for mobile deals. Daily deal sites, like Groupon and Living Social, are the second choice with 31 percents. Shoppers also use retailer apps and daily deal apps, but to a lesser degree.

This means consumers are going to the brands they are most familiar with and what is most convenient while their shopping … Read more