I do not like Christmas shopping.
I wanted to get my family the most heartfelt yet hilarious, unique and memorable gifts but did not have the time, desire or money to shop for them. Somewhat of a small dilemma.
Then I discovered Groupon and it was as if Santa Claus came early. I could buy my parents unique and expensive gifts at huge discounts all by checking my emails in the morning.
But how does the traditional consumer decision process play a role in Groupon’s incredibly unique shopping experience?
1) Need recognition – I needed Christmas presents for my family (may not have received any of my own otherwise).
2/3) Search for information/Evaluation of options – I really didn’t. The structure of Groupon’s ” daily discount” philosophy meant that I couldn’t compare my options. I had to decide each day “yes or no” and there was no going back if yesterday’s turned out to be better. I had to be ruthless.
There was a great deal of psychological risk involved in my purchases. Will they like it? Will I be excited to watch them open this? I also had an evaluative criteria: I wanted an ‘experience’ not a ‘good’ and something that my parents have never done before. Of course a reasonable price was important too.
4) Purchase – so easy!!! click.
5) Post purchase – no regrets! They loved their presents and I was more excited for them to unwrap their gifts than I was to unwrap my own! Dad got 4 minutes in a skydiving wind tunnel and Mom got 2 tickets to an 80s prom themed party.
So it seems that Groupon purchases follow a very similar consumer decision process but without the ability to easily compare options. What a smart marketing plan! They get the consumers to commit to the purchase by applying a disguised “now or never” pressure.
Thanks Groupon for saving Christmas!