The latest dip in the Groupon rollercoaster suggests that the shine of the daily deals market may well and truly have worn off, for investors at least. Last week its share price was at a new low, down 70% from its IPO price and they have continued to fall even further since. Last night they were down to just $4.37 a long way from  its $20 IPO price.

For consumers, they remain an interesting addition to the choice of shopping channels but the proliferation of sites fighting for their attention suggests that the initial novelty is waning and they’re scaling back their engagement.

But that doesn’t mean that the daily deal proposition is on borrowed time; more that this slow-down is a typical characteristic of a maturing channel – and in the same way we had to get smart as other channels matured, so we need to get smarter for shopping channels  too, and woo our customers a little more diligently. Read more »