BY GARY JOHNSON
Reprinted from Loose Change at TCBMag.com

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9

When Groupon first burst on the scene, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement of what appeared to be the iTunes of couponing, the Facebook of discount seekers, and the Google of where to get a good deal. As copycat technologies started popping up, Groupon gained even more steam as the dominant icon in its field.

Aside from losing ground recently among investment banks and retailers, Groupon really was and is nothing new to the great retail universe. Consumers have been clipping coupons and rifling through the Sunday newspaper circulars for 100 years or more. Groupon offered an alternative platform that was no different from the myriad of coupon platforms that have existed for decades, i.e., direct mail, in-store, and newspapers. A recent lunch with the publisher of a daily newspaper indicated that the daily’s circular business has been their single strongest revenue source in spite of Groupon’s presence, but then, it always has been. Continue reading →