Discounter adds Youngstown to website

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Groupon, a fast-growing shopping website that offers localized discounts, has come to Youngstown.

Founded in 2008, the Chicago-based company uses the principle of “collective buying” to negotiate major discounts on local goods, services and events.

The company is now in more than 300 national and international markets, with more than 20 million users worldwide. Youngstown is the state’s seventh Groupon site.

“With a growing downtown and offering plenty to see and do, Youngstown is an ideal Groupon market,” Rob Solomon, Groupon’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement Monday.

“We look forward to bringing residents unbeatable deals from the best Youngstown businesses, while driving new streams of customers to top local merchants.”

Groupon posts a new deal every day in each of its subscriber markers, offering discounts between 50 percent and 90 percent.

Coupons can be purchased online, but deals are only activated when a minimum number of users go in for the deal.

Deals are available for just 24 hours, but coupons typically are valid for several months after the purchase.

In its first week, Groupon Youngstown featured deals for kickboxing lessons at Next Level Martial Arts in Mineral Ridge, as well as discounts at Inner Circle Pizza and Kravitz Deli. The website is www.groupon.com.

The company has been touted as a new marketing vehicle for local merchants, providing them with a new customer base as well as revenue from coupon sales. Groupon takes a 50 percent cut of all coupon fees, and the rest goes to the local retailer.

“Groupon brings buyers and sellers together in a fun and collaborative way,” Solomon said. “We offer the consumer a great deal they can’t get anywhere else and deliver the sales directly to the merchant.”

Earlier this month, Groupon made national headlines when it turned down a $6 billion acquisition offer from Google.

By contrast, Google paid $3.1 billion for DoubleClick in 2008 and $1.65 billion for its 2006 purchase of YouTube.