Groupon Predicts Half of All Sales Coming From Mobile in Two Years
Mobile devices will be one of the largest drivers for Groupon’s deals business over the next few years, according to Michael Shim of Groupon VP Mobile Partnerships, “I believe we could see us doing 50 percent of deals sold/purchased in the next couple of years.”
Mobile devices will be one of the largest drivers for Groupon’s deals over the next few years, according to Michael Shim of Groupon VP Mobile Partnerships, “I believe we could see us doing 50 percent of deals sold/purchased in the next couple of years.”
Shim’s statement reverberated over the Internet from Mobile Northwest, one-day conference and networking event — sponsored by Miller Nash LLP — is for mobile-focused companies and developers who continue to innovate and break ground in the growing mobile industry.
Earlier in the day keynote speaker K.C. MacLaren, Starbucks’ director of mobile and emerging platforms, spoke of Starbuck’s being the largest mobile payments company, with 8,000 outlets. In January, it rolled out an iPhone app nationwide that allows people to scan their phone to pay for a drink.
To date the usage of the application has exceeded expectations. Only three months after the app launched, the company served more than three million people who had paid using Starbucks Card Mobile.
Other app creations in the pipeline include an Android application and the ability to order a coffee for pick-up in the store.
Shim explained the new service launched last week called Groupon Now. The service allows users in the Chicago area to make a timely purchase decision on when and where they want to eat lunch or dinner–or maybe even go see a movie. Shim told the conference attendees that service exceeded expectations, with more than 1,000 merchants already signed up to offer real-time deals. “We’ve been inundated with demand. Groupon Now is about local discovery. What can I find around me?”
Shims spoke of just getting started with mobile devices using Groupon’s deals, “We are just getting going on where we think it will take our business.”
