Daily Deal Duel

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Among the glut of daily deal sites that have emerged in Groupon’s wake, none is as serious a competitor to the group-buying site as LivingSocial.

Since its group deals launched in December 2009, the company has garnered a total of $232 million in funding — $175 million of it from Amazon.

That might seem like chump change compared to the $950 million Series D Groupon recently raised or its rumored $25 billion IPO-to-be. But according to this U.S.-market revenue data for both sites, compiled by LivingSocial, it’s been enough to seriously challenge Groupon.

The chart uses information that both group buying sites publish daily: the price of their deals and the number they sell. It seems LivingSocial’s market share has been steadily increasing since 2009. Currently, for every $10 of deals sold on either platform, $4 of them take place at LivingSocial.

If both companies continue to grow at their current rates, LivingSocial’s portion of sales will overtake Groupon’s in January 2012.

Groupon’s decreasing market share in U.S. markets does not necessarily indicate decreasing sales. A leaked internal memo suggests that Groupon’s annual revenue grew from $33 million in 2009 to $760 million in 2010. The change in market share has more to do with the fact that LivingSocial is just growing faster. It had 10 million subscribers in December, and more than 24 million subscribers three months later.

As the company starting with 100% market share in 2008, Groupon really only had one direction to go in once competitors got into the game. Fortunately for them, the entire market is exploding. A recent report from daily deal aggregator Local Offer Network says that group buying will grow 138% to $2.7 billion in 2011.

As the race intensifies in the daily deals space, Groupon still leads the way with nearly 24 million unique visitors, increasing 5.4 percent M-O-M and 655.8 percent Y-O-Y. While LivingSocial.com only boasts half as many unique visitors at this point (roughly 11.5 million), its rate of growth for the month, 32.7 percent, was six-times greater than Groupon’s, and its Y-O-Y growth rate stands at 418.4 percent. It is catching up quickly.

People Still Love Daily Deals

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The following is a re-post from Forbes:

Daily deals companies like Groupon and LivingSocial have been growing at breakneck speed. Recently Facebook and Google have jumped in with their own offerings as well. Amazon.com and even AT&T just launched services as well.

But is there daily deal fatigue? Are people’s email inboxes overflowing with offers? And how much are consumers actually buying these deals? A new survey conductaed by mobile advertising company Jiwire shows just how crazy consumers still are for daily deals.

A full 20% of people purchase one to two deals per month, and 10% purchase three to four deals per month. Even more eye-popping are the hardcore deal finders–those who see “spa” or “sky-diving” and click BUY practically before the page fully loads. In this group a full 7% purchase one to two deals per week, 4% purchase three to four deals per week and 3% purchase one deal daily. Yes, daily.

That last 3% should own stock in Groupon. Or get some kind of cash back rewards. The Jiwire survey was of 5,000 people on Jiwire’s mobile network–so people who have a mobile phone.

The survey found that the younger demographic was doing most of the monthly buying, with 33% of 25 to 44 year olds buying one of more deals per month and 17% buying one or more deals per week.

These daily deals are also extremely viral, which is no surprise if you’ve been watching this space explode over the past couple years. The survey found that 62% of people do actually share local deals with friends. That virality is what has driven the success of these companies. There are also incentives involved. For example, LivingSocial gives you a free deal if you get three of your friends to purchase a deal.

One note on the survey: It was taken from 5,500 people who responded to the survey on JiWire’s mobile network. So there may have been some self-selection. It wasn’t just people off the street.

Group Buying Space Remains Hot

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The following is a re-post from Tech Journal South:

WASHINGTON, DC – LivingSocial, the DC-based local discount deals firm that is second only to Chicago’s Groupon in that space, has closed on an additional $.59 million equity raise, according to an equity filing. The company raised $400 million in April and a total of $600 million since its founding as it races to put people on the ground in market after market in competition with Groupon and a host of smaller local group buying firms.

LivingSocial investors include Amazon, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Rowe Price, and Institutional Venture Partners, Case Foundation Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, and Grotech Capital Group.

The latest raise, disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, shows that the space remains hot.  Although this raise is minimal compared to previous ones, investors apparently still want a piece of the action.

We previously noted reports in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg that the company was considering a $500 million raise at a valuation of around $2 billion. VCExperts says the raise could actually value the company at around $3 billion.

LivingSocial now offers it daily deals in more than 200 markets and putting people on the ground in most is part of what costs so much money.

The company raised $175 million from Amazon and $8 million from its other venture backers three months ago, following a  $950 million raise by Groupon.

In December, LivingSocial said it brings in about $1 million a day.

Some reports have said that LivingSocial could actually overtake Groupon in terms of dealflow by next year if current trends continue. An additional $500 million would likely accelerate their progress.

Although both LivingSocial and Groupon are well-financed and have a huge lead in creating national organizations, both face competition from smaller players, often operating in just a handful of markets. We recently reported on Twongo, one such competitor based in the Research Triangle, which operates in several North Carolina and Canadian markets.

We would be willing to be both Groupon and LivingSocial will start buying up some of the smaller players with viable, successful markets. The question is whether they will keep whatever differences made the smaller players successful in their markets.

The Daily Deal Market-On Fire

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If someone didn’t think the daily deal market was important, they will understand a little more after reading the mashable reprint below:

link

The daily deal market is on fire, and a new market for reselling purchased deals that people can’t use is just starting to heat up.

Lifesta, CoupRecoup, DealsGoRound and Dealigee have all launched in the past 12 months marketplaces for these “used” deals.

Lifesta, the first in the bunch to offer a transaction platform (like Amazon) instead of a listing service (like Craigslist), announced on Tuesday that it has raised $1 million of angel funding.

It’s easy to see why the investor saw potential in the resale of daily deals. While huge players like Groupon, LivingSocial and Google, which has plans to launch a daily service, will likely continue to dominate the general daily deal market (there are still some promising startups in niche categories), they’ve also helped create a ripe business opportunity — reselling those deals when their buyers can’t use them in time.

The New York Times contributor Jay Goltz put redemption rates of daily deals at just 85%, which means 15% of these increasingly popular vouchers are game for being resold. The best model for turning these unused deals into a profitable enterprise has yet to be determined.

Lifesta charges a $0.99 fee for every sale of a deal, plus 8% of its selling price. DealGoRound uses a similar model. CoupRecoup and Dealigee charge neither sellers nor buyers for the transaction and will presumably either introduce transaction fees in the future or rely on another revenue source.

There’s also a chance that daily deal companies will react to the effect that secondary markets have on coupon redemption rates. If coupons that would otherwise have been left unredeemed are instead resold, partnering with deal sites becomes a more expensive proposition for businesses. Groupon already has a no-questions-asked refund policy, and other companies could put policies in place that would discourage coupon holders from selling deals they can’t use to secondary markets.

Even if some companies put these policies in place, however, the potential for a thriving secondary deals market would still be huge. By some estimates, daily deals has the potential to become a $5 billion industry. Efficiently recycling any percentage of that could pay off handsomely.

eCommerce Spending BIG Money

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The amount of money that LivingSocial and Groupon are spending to dominate eCommerce retail shopping in the social networking world is just mind blowing.

The following is a reprint from Mashable:

A few days after Groupon locked in a Super Bowl ad, LivingSocial has responded by purchasing a pre-game spot.

LivingSocial hired Richmond, Virginia-based ad shop The Martin Agency back in November, but hadn’t previously announced the relationship. The 30-second ad will feature a guy who uses LivingSocial and “goes through a deal addiction.” Further details are not available. LivingSocial’s pre-game Super Bowl buy will be augmented with the purchase of three Academy Award-related spots.

The move comes after Groupon earlier this week confirmed that it had bought a spot during this year’s Super Bowl and is running ads before and after the game. Groupon is working with Crispin Porter & Bogusky, the agency perhaps best known for its Burger King ads.

The infusion of ad dollars signals the latest front between the two biggest players in the fast-growing online group buying category. Groupon currently claims more than 44 million subscribers, while LivingSocial’s 
are in the range of 16 million. Update: A LivingSocial rep says the number is now around 20 million.

But LivingSocial, which received a $175 million investment from Amazon in December, is a feisty competitor. Last month, the company leveraged its Amazon relationship by offering a $20 Amazon gift card for $10. After that, LivingSocial’s traffic jumped 80%.

The entry of Groupon into the Super Bowl and LivingSocial before the game also displays a coming of age for social media firms, but offers a stark contrast to the 1999 and 2000 Super Bowls, which were full of then-hot dot-com companies like Pets.com and Epidemic.com that went belly-up not long afterwards. This time around, soon-to-IPO companies like Facebook and LinkedIn are sitting the game out.

Announcement July 15, 2010

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KACHING KACHING, Inc. Announces Implementation of Phase II of Our Rollout Strategy to Create the Largest E-Commerce Chain on the Internet

New E-Commerce Concept is Increasing

Brand Name Merchandise Offering Over 2.5 Million Products

HENDERSON, Nev.  (PR Web)  June 15, 2010 –

KACHING KACHING, Inc. (www.kachingkaching.com) (OTC Bulletin Board: KCKC.OB). Announced today it’s Phase II rollout. The Phase I tactical pre-launch of KACHING KACHING’s emergence as the world’s largest online shopping community and retail chain is NOW SUCCESSFULLY completed. The firm has the ability to begin building its national footprint of Independent Store Owners (ISO). Each Independent Store Owner will be offering millions of items and thousands of name brand products at everyday low prices to millions of unaware, but awaiting customers across the nation. Already KACHING KACHING has established Independent Store Owners in nearly half of the States around the country.

Phase II will integrate KACHING KACHING’s tier 1 merchandise partners into its co-branded proprietary online storefronts, allowing KACHING KACHING to maximize the viral aspects of the Internet. As we roll out our retail chain of online stores, we will provide a totally new shopping experience for both Independent Store Owners and the mass market consumer. Think of a more enjoyable shopping experience for both you and your friends at say, Amazon.com with everyone receiving upwards of 10% of the purchase price back in commission. KACHING KACHING is destined to be a new category killer within the already prospering e-commerce segment, which last year alone grossed over $170 billion in online sales. KACHING KACHING’s product categories match those of today’s largest e-tailers. From popular athletic shoes to Lancôme skincare for men and women, to bed and bath accessories and electronics, we’ll have everything you’ll need to be on the cutting edge electronically, while being on trend and in style. With the popularity of the Internet, and its fluid development and technology, the world is changing rapidly. First there was Yahoo, and then came Google. There was MySpace and then Facebook. There was Blockbuster and then Netflix came on the scene. Today it’s Amazon, but tomorrow it will be KACHING KACHING! By utilizing the latest technology, tier 1 merchandise partners, and the most unique customer acquisition model ever introduced in the e-commerce business landscape, KACHING KACHINGâ’s growth may be unprecedented. To support its successful Independent Store Owners, KACHING KACHING will be providing each with an Apple iPhone 4, so that successful strategies can be shared immediately amongst each ISO using what is called FaceTime. FaceTime is an exclusive Apple technology that allows immediate face to face real time video, for training and sharing of the KACHING KACHING online business opportunity.

Beyond Commerce, Inc. (www.beyondcommerce.com) (OTC: BYOC.OB) is a significant shareholder of KACHING KACHING, Inc. with ownership of over 10.5 million shares.

About KACHING KACHING Inc. KACHING KACHING Inc., is the very first retail chain of online stores serving consumers on the Internet. It licenses co-branded proprietary online storefronts that can be operated by Independent Store Owners full or part- time with exponential viral growth. Each online storefront will offer millions of items and thousands of name brand products to sell at everyday low prices. Powered by superior customer service and driven by value, KACHING KACHING Inc., provides every Independent Store Owner with the best opportunity for financial success. For more information, visit www.kachingkaching.com.

About Beyond Commerce, Inc. Beyond Commerce, Inc. is a multi-faceted company providing e-commerce solutions for high traffic web properties. We are a cutting edge media company specializing in Ad Networking, Online Advertising, Lead Generation and Local Advertising. For more information, visit http://www.beyondcommerce.com.

Safe Harbor Statement:

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental and technological factors affecting KACHING KACHING, Inc. operations, markets, products and prices and other factors discussed in the Company’s various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

KACHING KACHING, Inc

Miranda Freerksen

Email: miranda@kachingkaching.com

Source: KACHING KACHING, Inc.

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