In response to the severe backlash against its service, with accusations that Groupon is bad for businesses, the popular yet tarnished daily deals provider is preparing a revamped version of its website.
Groupon has been working on improving its website’s offering for a while now.
It recently began by rolling out personalisation features including the option for users to “heart” chosen deals.
And now it’s going one step further, introducing “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” buttons to help tailor offers more effectively to its 33 million active users.
New updated website in beta
Chief executive Andrew Mason was interviewed in San Francisco and revealed how the company had begun testing a new design of the website with a small number of users last month, with plans to make it widely available in the coming weeks.
It is clear to me that since raising $700 million in a November initial public offering, the release of new features to enhance the experience for customers and make it more worthwhile for businesses to sign up, is a clear attempt to fend off the increasing popularity of rivals such as LivingSocial.
Innovative technology will be the focus for Groupon
The upcoming new website is a reflection of Mason’s endeavor to make technology a greater focus for Groupon’s service.
“Our goal is six months from now, when you go to Groupon, it’s going to look and feel very different,” Mason said.
“It’s going to be a much more robust and refined service that immediately jumps off the page.”
The additions of the “thumbs up” and “thumbs down” buttons are supposed to guide Groupon in only showing the most relevant deals, avoiding situations like offering bikini waxing to men.
Other additions to Groupon’s site will include more prominent links to Groupon Now, a service for local deals only available for a short period of the day.
Do you think Groupon will be able to turn around the growing negativity over its service?
Or do you think all those media horror stories have ruined its reputation forever?