In November 2011 Sucharita Mulpuru published a very well read Forrester research document entitled “The Myths and Truths About Daily Deals”. In this document she led with the line…

“While significant media and investor interest in daily deals has fueled the hype around this business model, data from consumers indicates that daily deals are significantly challenged models.”

The daily deals concept is receiving just as much press coverage in Europe as it is in the US, so with that in mind we have taken a similar look at the state of the market of deals, flash sales and coupons and found that while there is a great deal in common, there are some notable differences.

Much of the differences stem from a combination of the local players and the geographical complexity of operating across Europe.  Many of the big players like Grouponand Living Socialare present in Europe, with significant market presence in many countries, though a range of other national companies like DailyDeal.deand SecretSales.comoperate in only one country. So while at a national level the situation is reasonably easy to understand, eBusiness executives operating in a pan-European company have a maze of different options to navigate through.

In our latest document “European eBusiness Executives Take a Cautious Approach to Daily Deals” we look at the uptake of deals and voucher sites across Europe, examine some of the motivations and success stories from retailers who have already engaged and look at what it takes to create a successful engagement with a deal or a flash sale site in Europe.

While there is significant skepticism, we have found some success stories, including some approaches to minimize the risk or squeeze as much value as possible from this much talked about sales model.

This will undoubtedly be a space that continues to evolve, and I’m sure we will be back looking at this again.