Groupon Heads to China
Online discount website Groupon has been making a lot of waves recently. The social phenomenon has been growing at a steady rate and making friends left, right and centre, both from a business and user perspective as its reputation grows. So much so that they’ve decided to try and crack the Eastern market, and have set up shop in China.
Groupon initially looks to have angled themselves toward the market well, rebranding themselves as GaoPeng.com and cosying up to the right people (they have partnered with online giant Tencent in a bid to broaden word of their services).
Though a positive move, analysts aren’t so sure of the move, citing the amount of competition they’re likely to face in an already competitive market. Paul Wuh of Samsung Securities, for instance, says: "Discounts will always be popular, but the question is will Groupon be more popular than the other websites? There are many entrenched companies already offering this product.”
Google were rumoured to be considering making a move for Groupon a while ago, but it seems as though they’re not without ambition themselves as they look to take on one of the biggest online markets on the planet. They certainly know what they’re doing when it comes to internet marketing though – we think partnering with Tencent is a fantastic move that can only make consumers more aware of the Groupon brand, both in a local and international sense.
Groupon has got their eCommerce web development services and social promotion spot on, and are really starting to see results because of it. Not many companies are bold enough to take on one of the largest markets on the planet at their stage, but Groupon must really feel it can offer a service that no-one else can if they’re looking to enter the Chinese market. We wish them the best of luck!
