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 It looks like everyone loves a good deal, but especially those with a little more cash. Recent data released by GfkMRI shows that Groupon.com is used by all generations and more frequently by those with higher incomes. Among adults who visited Groupon.com in March, 38% were Millennials (born between 1977 and 1994), 29% were GenXers (1965 to 1976) and 29% were Baby Boomers (1946 to 1964). Additionally, Groupon.com users are more than twice as likely as non-Groupon.com users to live in households with annual incomes in excess of $100,000.  Further, Groupon.com users are 73% more likely to live in households whose net worth exceeds $1 million!

 

While the innovative couponing platform has motivated high income households to visit Groupon.com merchants, serious unintended consequences are surfacing.  Researchers from Boston University conducted a study which shows that while the number of reviews increases significantly due to daily deals, average rating scores from Yelp! reviewers who mention daily deals are about 10 percent lower than scores of their peers. As emerging media and commerce sites reach expanded audiences, it will be interesting to note resulting dissonance between intended and actual outcomes.