The main difference between Groupon and Facebook is that people willingly come to Facebook several times a day. Yeah, that’s a big difference. And now, Facebook is rolling out a subscription service for their Facebook deals offering. If you live in a few select cities, you can “Subscribe now to get notified when Deals are available in your area and receive regular updates about new offers.”
Facebook is the place you’re sharing your Groupon deals anyway. Doesn’t it make more sense for them to live there as well? This is a great case study test of “first to market”. Groupon got there first, and continues to hold the lion’s share of the lead. And while it probably makes more sense for Facebook or Google to handle this industry, the mindshare belongs to Groupon.
We’ll see if they keep it.