DoubleClick and Google Vets Launch Groupon Cloning Platform
White label offering for group buying services underscores rising fragmentation in the niche.
How much fragmentation can the daily deals niche take? Group Commerce, led by a trio of online marketing veterans, plans to find out.
The New York-based company has created a white-label platform for publishers and other media marketers that want to implement a branded Groupon clone.
So far, The New York Times, DailyCandy, Thrillist, and Meredith Corporation have signed on to support deals on its platform.
Founded by former Google and DoubleClick executives David Rosenblatt, Jonty Kelt, and Andrew Glenn, Group Commerce has raised $8 million from these capital investors: Spark Capital, Carmel Ventures, Lerer Media Ventures, and Bob Pittman, an MTV Networks founder and now chairman of media and entertainment platforms at Clear Channel.
According to a recent report by BIA/Kelsay, the investment money could be well spent. The Chantilly, VA-based research firm estimates the daily deals niche will be a $4 billion industry by 2015. In 2010, BIA/Kelsey found daily deals services captured $873 million. If correct, its projections indicate a 35 percent compound growth rate during the next four years.
Groupon and LivingSocial are the clear leaders in a space involving around 200 deals-based brands. New deals sites for specific demographics like moms, hunters, and golfers seem to be popping up daily, and it’s safe to wonder how much fragmentation can occur before the niche’s bubble bursts.
A partial list of current services demonstrates how much the category has exploded:
Mom Deals
Golf Deals
Baby Deals
Jewelry Deals
–Bfiz
Women’s Clothing And Accessories Deals
Hunting Deals
Amara Mastronardi contributed to this report.
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