Groupon continues its evolution in the daily deal space, this week with the formal launch of Groupon Rewards nationwide.
Billed as a user friendly loyalty program for merchants, Groupon Rewards offers customers special “rewards” in return for their shopping loyalty.
After a successful pilot program in Philadelphia, Groupon Rewards is now open to U.S. merchants, regardless of whether or not the business has previously run a Groupon deal.
“We believe this is the easiest Rewards program in the world for both merchants and consumers,” says Jay Hoffmann, General Manager of Groupon Rewards. “Merchants can leverage the power of Groupon’s active customer base to launch a loyalty program with real impact, using the systems they already have in place. And thanks to the scale of Groupon’s network of high quality local businesses, consumers can enjoy increased savings from a wide variety of merchants in their backyard and all over the U.S.”
According to the company’s formal announcement today, “preliminary data” points to Groupon Rewards customers becoming “even more loyal” than organically acquired customers.
Launched in late 2008, Groupon has become a major presence in the digital commerce world. But it remains to be seen if and how the company’s long term business and marketing strategies will make Groupon as profitable as many investors hope it will become.