One could say that 2010 was the year of the deal site. Gilt, Blackboard Eats, Living Social, Groupon, along with a slew of smaller, localized pages gained swelling followings. Their approaches varied - some, like Gilt and RueLaLa, curated sales and sold products directly on the site. Others, like Blackboard Eats, offered coupon codes for percentages off selected restaurants. And finally, sites like Living Social and Groupon employed a buy-in-advance for a discounted price - the latter introducing the world to the tipping point/crowdsource/ deal activation model.
It's been interesting to see the landscape of deal sites ebb as the sites evolve to find their niche. Today, I got a distressing email from my favorite of the sites (see above), announcing that previously free discount codes (usually 30% off lunch or dinner), are now $1. The beauty of Blackboard Eats was that it was free money saved that didn't require a commitment, unlike so many of the other sites.
I was watching the Twitter buzz regarding BBE among foodies today. Some were mildly miffed, but most considered the site's careful curated selection of partner restaurants worth an extra buck. And while it seems counter intuitive to pay for a coupon, another way to look at it is just a smaller percentage off - 27.5% off versus 30% off, for example.
I wonder which way people will see it. And whether that $1 charge, while small, will be the hump that drives people to seek other deal sites.
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